EMPOWERING SMALL-SCALED, LIMITED-RESOURCE AND OTHER FARMERS WITH IPM KNOWLEDGE

<b>Project Methods</b><br> 1. IPM Implementation in Specialty and Agronomic CropsFor speciality crops emphasis will be directed at sweet corn, watermelon, squash, eggplant, grapes and strawberries because of their urgent needs, and for the field crop we will focus on hemp and soybean.Dissemination. Annual field days. Field days will be launched via two methods and held during two periods of the growing season. For the first approach, plots will be created at two university research farms (Southern MD & MD Eastern Shore). A main goal of the first approach is to 1) showcase our research, 2) contrast results of different IPM practices and 3) train guest how to scout for, diagnose and solve pest and disease issues with IPM principles. Station stops will be co-hosted with farmers who will share their knowledge. For the second approach, demo/research plots will be established at participant growers' farms to 1) showcase their research and/or demonstrate how new tactics can be integrated into current management practices. As an outcome of the previous EIP subaward from UMD, a partnership with farmer participants was initiated; and plots of perennial crops (e.g., grapes, strawberries) are currently on display at university research farms. Information on tactics such as using crop rotation, competitive cultivars, preventive tactics and cover crops for pest suppression and/or conservation benefits will be conferred at field days. Guest will also be briefed on local, regional and national research-generated knowledge that can be used to improve their IPM programs. Small farm conference. The SFP hosts an annual small farm conference which is recognized as one of the premier agricultural events, attracting ~ 150 participants each year from MD, the District of Columbia, and the Delmarva Peninsula.The objective of the conference is to provide a venue where participants can come together to network and learn about new opportunities and strategies that promote farm profitability and sustainability. An IPM track will be added as part of the conference, and research updates on management solutions for emerging and ongoing pest and disease issues in fruits and vegetables will be presented. Extension publications. A popular MD extension publication is Vegetable and Fruit News which is read by ~3000 stakeholders. Though its content on pest management is relevant to all farmers, SFP clientele are mostly unaware of it. Thus, our efforts will include making sure that SFP stakeholders get on the mailing list. We can then use this newsletter as an additional means of disseminating information to our end-users. Other avenues of distribution will include articles in the regional newspaper (The Delmarva Farmer), posting at UMES SFP website and the creation of short YouTube training videos as well as narrated virtual research field tours that highlights some of our applied research. As part of the IPM training series, Co-PIs Joseph and Hooks will record a live webinar series on IWM. The series will consist of multiple topics such as using planting date, tillage, plasticulture, competitive cultivars, herbicides, etc. as part of an IWM program, and direct viewers to sites such as (https://growiwm.org/) to obtain additional facts. The webinar series will be recorded and uploaded to the SFP web page.IPM web. The SFP website is mainly used to advertise events and provide links to useful resources. We propose to upgrade the SFP website and use it to expand outreach efforts, record project impacts and serve as a central hub for the project. The web page will be upgraded to: 1) make navigation by users easier, 2) house IPM information relevant to stakeholders (e.g., articles, webinars, videos), 3) include web tracking software to record site visits, and 4) incorporate an active online survey that will allow users to evaluate online content, state their educational needs, and suggest research and extension topics. As such, funding will be requested for web development to support all emphasis areas (poultry, agronomic and specialty crops).Farmer science. There is a need for more farmer assistance in research and extension. This is fueled by the realization that plans such as field trials followed by unidirectional advice will not maximize IPM adoption. Close farmer engagement during planning, research and information transfer increases our perception of limitations that they face in adopting new ideas, and allows us to use their skills to remove these constraints19b. Further, farmers will have an increased sense of ownership of new ideas if they assist in their creation and testing; and greater confidence that these ideas will succeed. In brief, this arrangement will include the establishment of plots in which farmers incorporate management tactics developed communally with other farmers and project participants and compare the outcome with plots or field areas based on their routine practices. An example of a farmer led trial is testing three weed management plans in sweetcorn: 1) low input with emphasis on cover cropping; 2) integrated, cover cropping and reduced "banded" herbicide spray; and 3) farmer current practice, pre- and post-emergent herbicide over the entire field and/or tillage. Commercial farms with research trials can be used jointly for field tours. This extension activity is designed to promote IPM through partnerships with farmers.Workshops and roundtable meetings. Workshops will be devised to train farmers how to conduct simple field trials. As part of the training, farmers will identify production constraints and work communally and with project participants to develop and test suppositions on their farms. Conjointly with this activity, we will help farmers secure grants through grant writing workshops. These workshops will be designed to also instruct attendees how to apply for farmer grants (e.g., Northeast SARE Farmer Grant). Additional workshop topics will include scouting for pests and identifying good guys (e.g., predators, parasitoids).2.IPM Implementation in Animal Agriculture – Poultry?Dissemination plan. Publications and videos. Extension material will be distributed via the poultry extension website (https://extension.umd.edu/poultry). This website provides the poultry industry real-time and -world information about poultry production via publications, videos and meeting notes. Visitation to the site peaked at 50,000 yearly. Contributions to the website will be in the form of fact sheets and short video clips. Articles will also be submitted to The Mid-Atlantic Poultry Farmer a monthly publication and to the Delmarva Chicken Association newsletter (https://americanfarmpublications.com/poultry/). Field days and presentations. Presentations will be conducted at key commodity meetings such as the Delaware Agriculture Week, local discussion group meetings and via on-line communications (SFP website) to deliver information regarding produce safety, poultry health (parasites), fly and beetle management, and biosecurity. We will also use events such as the monthly seminar series held for Delmarva poultry operators as well as "feed store" meetings held for small flock operators for reaching stakeholders. A key event held by UMD and UMES extension, U. of Delaware and members of the Delmarva Chicken Association is an on-farm field day for Delmarva poultry farmers. The field day event held in 2020 was attended by ~ 425 people consisting of poultry farmers, employees of poultry company and governmental agencies and etc. To reach a wide audience and gather more information for poultry farmers, we will participate in the National Meeting on Poultry Health which is a scientific and educational gathering for the chicken industry held in MD.