Progress report for SNE22-005-MD

SNE22-005-MD (project overview)

Project Type: PDP State Program

Funds awarded in 2022: $118,902.00

Projected End Date: 09/30/2025

Grant Recipient: UME

Region: Northeast

State: Maryland

State Coordinator:

Emily Zobel

UME

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Project Information

Summary:

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a practical and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that can help farmers reduce the number of sprays they apply to a field by combining proactive and reactive management practices. IPM uses knowledge about the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment to manage pest populations and damage by the most economical means and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.

This project will train agriculture service providers in IPM principles, pest identification skills, and pest management strategies. These service providers will then be able to offer additional support to farmers by aiding in pest identification, pest management planning, and pest management education. Pest identification is key to choosing the correct treatment and management strategy since treatments might not work without correctly identifying the pest or crop issue. Farmers are busy and cannot always stay up to date on new invasive weeds and insects. Additionally, climate change and extreme weather events are causing changes in pest populations.

Centering and Belonging Mini-Project

Northeast SARE offered additional funding to State Coordinators to reach grass-roots organizations.

This project aims to help build a relationship between SARE and local grass-roots farmer-led organizations on education programs. University of Maryland State Coordinator Emily Zobel will work with two farmer-led organizations, Wild Kid Acres Farm and the Farm Alliance of Baltimore, to partner on farmer educational events. Both organizations have been active in farmer-led education programs for several years and have built up a trusted relationship with the farming community they serve. Their educational programs are based on the feedback and needs of participating farmers and their local community. The topics and structure of the education events for this project are based on conversations between local farmers, partnering organizations, and the SARE state coordinator.

Wild Kid Acres Farm and the Farm Alliance of Baltimore plan to expand their teaching operations over the next few years to better serve the local farming community. The funds requested as part of this grant will allow them to continue to offer free or low-cost agriculture educational events for their farming community while allowing them to shift some of their funds to other areas of need they have. During this project, Zobel will continue to have ongoing conversations with partnering organizations about where there is an overlap between their farmer community needs, the resources SARE can offer, and how that fits into educational events for the farming community.

Performance Target:

50 service providers will advise a total of 150 farmers about how to improve their pest management practice by scouting fields, identifying pests, using thresholds, and using a mixture of pest control techniques as a result of participating in this project.

Introduction:

Agricultural pests such as insects, weeds, nematodes, and disease pathogens, damage, disfigure or destroy more than 30 percent of crops worldwide. Many farmers and ranchers use pesticides and tillage to control these pests. The overuse of pesticides can lead to resistant pest populations. Exclusive tillage can reduce soil health and increase the likelihood of erosion. A 2019 review published in Biological Conservation cited that agrochemical pollutants such as synthetic pesticides and fertilizers as one of the main drivers of global insect species decline (Sanchez-Bayo, 2019). Beginning farmers tend to struggle with pest management as that is a large knowable gap to overcome. Organic farms often have a hard time dealing with pests than conventional farms. Additionally, farmers are currently dealing with increased production costs in fuel, fertilizer, and pesticide chemicals, which add an extra financial burden on farmers and reduce their profits.

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a practical and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that can help farmers reduce the number of sprays they apply to a field by combining proactive and reactive management practices. It uses knowledge about the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment to manage pest populations and damage by the most economical means and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.

Pest identification is key to choosing the correct treatment and management strategy. Management strategies and chemical treatments might not work without correctly identifying the pest or crop issue. While some farming operations might hire a company to help with pest scouting and pesticide application, others scout on their own or don’t scout at all. Farmers might seek help from ag service providers when encountering new or unfamiliar pest issues. However, not all ag service providers are familiar with pest identification and management aspects.

This project proposes holding a two-day IPM training workshop for agriculture service providers, such as extension agents, soil conservation district employees, and Natural Resources Conservation Service ((NRCS) employees. Many of the conservation programs that are offered through NRCS and soil conservation districts align with IPM practices, such as using cover crops. In a 2011 University of Maryland Extension private pesticide applicator survey, 94% of respondents stated that they received their state-required pesticide training from the University of Maryland Extension. While extension agents attend an annual pesticide training to update them and aid plan farmer training for that upcoming year, that training doesn’t always include specific IPM topics. Many extension agents do not have a background in pest management, so they might not include IPM topics in their private pesticide applicator training for farmers. The proposed training will help to fill in those gaps.

These classes will focus on teaching IPM principles and management strategies. Participants will also gain skills in insect and weed identification and plant disease and environmental effects to diagnose skills. These classes will widen the pool of people who can aid farmers with pest identification questions. Additional one-day specific IPM topic days will be targeted at service providers that work closely with that group of farmers. This training will be targeted at the above ag service providers, but other ag service providers will be welcome to participate since learning about IPM gives an understanding of the challenges that farmers have when dealing with pest pressure in their operations. When surveyed, 47 out of 65 participants’ agriculture service providers answered that they thought some training in IPM was needed for themselves and their peers, and 43 stated that they would likely attend training about IPM.

Sánchez-Bayo, F., Wyckhuys, K., (2019) Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers. Biological Conservation, 232, Pages 8-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.01.020.

Educational Approach

Educational approach:

Engagement: One hundred service providers learn about the workshops through emails, news articles, extension blogs, and extension newsletters. The advisory committee members will aid in determining possible ag service providers who might be missing and how they might want to be reached. SARE table display at winter meetings will allow for direct outreach about the project with farmers and service providers.

Learning: This project will involve a series of integrated pest management workshops, including a two-day training integrated pest management (IPM) workshop and a few single-day classes focusing on pest management in specific agricultural areas.

Three single-day pest management classes will be held across the state in 2023, focusing on pest management in specific agricultural areas relevant to that area of Maryland. One urban production pest management workshop will be held in Baltimore, Maryland. A pastures pest management class will be held in western Maryland, and pest management for poultry production will be held on the eastern shore of Maryland. Follow-up surveys from these single-day classes will help to provide feedback which will be used to shape the format and curriculum of the large two-day IPM workshop. These single-day classes may be repeated or done on additional topics in the following years if there is interest.

The first two-day training integrated pest management (IPM) workshop will be held winter/ spring of 2024. It will be held in a central location over two consecutive days. The following fall, the same workshop will be held for a new group of service providers. This workshop will be held on two separate days that will be two-three weeks apart to allow for different schedules. A third workshop will be held in the winter/ spring of 2025, with its format to be decided based on feedback.

The two-day workshop's curriculum will include an overview of IPM, IPM principles and practices, standard management practices, plant diagnosis, and pest identification. Pest samples will be collected during 2023 so that participants can practice hands-on identification skills of weeds and insects during the workshop. Case studies would be developed and used to allow participants to practice developing an integrated pest management plan for a farm. Handouts and fact sheets created for this workshop will be shared physical and digital with participants and will be available on the University of Maryland Extension website. A google form will be created for interested participants to fill out. In addition to basic information, questions will be asked to learn more about the type of farmers the participants interact with and their needs. Funds will be made available to help participants with travel and lodging. Each workshop will have 10-20 participants. After completion of the workshop, participants will fill out a survey to help with gathering feedback to see if and how the workshop needs to change, grow or change directions. Possible changes could involve lengthening the training to three days or having additional in-person or virtual advance IPM training opportunities or working groups.

Faculty from the University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and University of Maryland extension will be asked to help teach in their specialty areas for the two-day IPM and single-day specialty classes. The curriculum will be shared with the advisory committee member before the event for feedback.

Participants will be supported after training through the website, email list-serve, and zoom meeting. Seasonal IPM discussion meetings will be held virtually, where participants discuss IPM issues that have arisen in their area, what recommendations they made, and get feedback and ideas from each other. Additional online zoom lectures will be provided on topics of interest based on end-of-workshop surveys. Potential topics for these webinars might include IPM for specialty crops, IPM for high tunnels and indoor farming, and climate change effects on the pest life cycle.

Engagement and Evaluation: Surveys will be used at the end of each class and workshop to gain feedback and evaluate what participants learned and the program format. End-of-class surveys from these single-day classes will provide feedback which will be used to shape the format and curriculum of the large IPM workshop. Follow-up surveys will be conducted online 6 months following the single-day classes and the two-day workshops to collect information about the program's usefulness, the number of farmers the participants have interacted concerning IPM and suggestions for future programs. The feedback from participants will be evolved by the advisory group and will be used in determining what adjustments and changes need to be made to the project.

Milestones

Milestones:

Complete - Engagement: November 2022- March 2023: Attend six UME winter production meetings to share information about SARE and upcoming IPM projects with farmers and service providers.
Accomplishments: Interact with 40 farmers and 20 service providers.
Complete - Engagement: March - October 2023: 100 service providers will learn about the one-day IPM classes (poultry, pasture, and urban ag) via local agriculture newspapers, email listserv, and UME newsletters. Each class will have 10 service providers sign up to participate.
Complete - Learning: June 2023 - October 2023: Three standalone one-day specialty IPM classes will be held (poultry IPM on the eastern shore of Maryland, urban Ag in Baltimore, Maryland, and pasture and forage in western Maryland). Ten service providers will participate in each class. Participants will learn about common pests and pest related issues for that ag commodity and control methods. Participants for all three classes will complete a survey to get feedback on the classes' content, format, and short-term learning goals. Feedback will be used for planning of long IPM class.
Accomplishments: The one-day poultry class was planned but was canceled two days before the event due to low registration. A new date has been set for the spring of 2024. The one-day IPM pasture class was planned but was canceled two days before the event due to low registration. A new date has been set for the spring of 2024. The one-day IPM pasture class was postponed till 2024. The Urban Ag IPM class was moved from an in-person to an online lunch-and-learn format based on feedback from an Urban Ag survey. 54 people registered for the online webinars (31 service providers, 21 farmers, and 2 who prefer not to answer.) On average, each class had 14 participants who attended live lectures and 5 views of the recorded lectures. An in-person IPM for Urban Ag workshop is being planned for the summer of 2024.
Complete - Engagement: November 2023- March 2024: Attend six UME production meetings to share information about SARE and the IPM project with farmers and service providers. Interact with 25 farmers and 25 service providers. 50 service providers learn about the IPM workshops via in-person interaction. Workshop information will also be shared via local AG newspapers, email listserv, and UME newsletters. 15 service providers will apply to take multiday IPM workshop.
Accomplishments: SARE outreach tables were present at 5 extension winter production meetings and 2 at conferences. Information about SARE resources and grants was shared with ~ 100 farmers and ag service providers.
Complete -Learning: February - May 2024: 10 service providers will participate in a hands-on IPM workshop. Participants will learn about IPM management and control tactics. Insect pest and weed samples collected in 2023 will be used to teach insect, weed, and disease identification. At the end of the workshop, participants will complete a survey to get feedback on the workshop content, format, and short-term learning goals.
Accomplishments: After receiving feedback from the follow-up survey from the urban ag IPM webinar series and conversations with people at the outreach event, the hands-on IPM workshop will be shortened from a two-day event to a one-day event. A spring IPM workshop was held in April 2024. Three service providers and two farmers attended the IPM workshop.
Evaluation: November - December 2024: Eight service providers participating in the first IPM workshop will complete a follow-up survey. Surveys will collect information about the program's usefulness, the number of farmers the participants have interacted with concerning IPM, and suggestions for future programs. The advisory group will evolve the feedback from participants and use it to determine what adjustments and changes need to be made to the project.
Accomplishments - A six-month survey was sent to participants for the first IPM class. No feedback has been collected yet.
Complete - Learning: September 2024 - November 2024: 10 new service providers will participate in a second IPM workshop. Participants will learn about IPM management and control tactics. Insect pest and weed samples collected in 2023 will be used to teach insect, weed, and disease identification. At the end of the workshop, participants will fill out a survey to get feedback on the workshop content and short-term learning goals.
Accomplishments: Two IPM workshops were held in September and October 2024. Three service providers, 2 Ag no-profits, and one farmer attended the IPM workshops.
In-progress - Engagement: November 2024- March 2025: Attend 6 UME winter production meetings to share information about SARE and IPM classes and workshops. Interact with 30 farmers and 30 service providers.
In-progress - Learning: March 2025 - October 2025: 10 new service providers will participate in IPM workshops. Additionally, two small farm weed management workshops are planned for April 2025. A monthly IPM web series will run from March 2025 to October 2025. Participants will complete a survey at the end of the workshops and webinars to get feedback on the workshop content and short-term learning goals.
Evaluation: March 2025: Four service providers who participated in the second group of IPM workshops will complete a follow-up survey. Surveys will collect information about the program's usefulness, the number of farmers the participants have interacted with concerning IPM, and suggestions for future programs. The feedback from participants will be evolved by the advisory group and will be used in determining what adjustments and changes need to be made to the project.
Evaluation: November 2025: Eight service providers participating in the third IPM workshop will complete a follow-up survey. Surveys will collect information about the program's usefulness, the number of farmers the participants have interacted with concerning IPM, and suggestions for future programs. The feedback from participants will be used to help guide future projects.

Centering and Belonging Mini-project

Engagement: August 2024: The State Coordinator will meet with Wild Kid Acres and the Farm Alliance of Baltimore to review grant and educational program plans. The Farm Alliance of Baltimore and Wild Kid Acres will share information about upcoming educational events with their local community through their websites, social media, and emails.
Learning: September 2024 - June 2025: Farm Alliance of Baltimore will host twelve educational training sessions for the local urban farming community. 15 farmers will attend each event. The State Coordinator will attend 30% of the training sessions based on her availability.
Accomplishments: Farm Alliance of Baltimore has shared events with their local community and has started to host several educational events.
Learning: November 2024: Wild Kid Acres will host four guest speakers for a two-day bilingual conference for ~~Latino~~ farmers in Maryland and surrounding States. The State Coordinator will host a SARE outreach table at this event. 110 farmers will attend this event.
Accomplishments: The Wild Kid Acres conference has been moved to Spring 2025 due to other commitments.
Evaluation: September 2024 - June 2025: An anonymous online survey will be set up and shared with event participants via paper card at the event, by email within a week of the event, and on the registration page for the events.
Accomplishments: The survey is still being completed and approved by IRB.
Evaluation: December 2024: The State Coordinator will review the survey results and consider any necessary changes to programming based on participant feedback. Wild Kid Acres and the Farm Alliance of Baltimore will share results and feedback.
Accomplishments:
Evaluation: July 2025: The State Coordinator will meet with Wild Kid Acres and the Farm Alliance of Baltimore to gain feedback on their experience with the project and partnership.
Accomplishments:
Evaluation: July 2025: The State Coordinator will review the survey results and submit a report to SARE.
Accomplishments:

Milestone Activities and Participation Summary

21 Consultations

1 Curricula, factsheets or educational tools

1 Online trainings

7 Webinars / talks / presentations

4 Workshop field days

Participation Summary:

7 Extension

7 NRCS

3 Nonprofit

10 Agency

7 Ag service providers (other or unspecified)

2 Farmers/ranchers

6 Others

17 Farmers participated

27 Number of agricultural educator or service providers reached through education and outreach activities

Learning Outcomes

2 Agricultural service providers reported changes in knowledge, skills and/or attitudes as a result of their participation.

4 Ag service providers intend to use knowledge, attitudes, skills and/or awareness learned through this project in their educational activities and services for farmers

Performance Target Outcomes

Performance Target Outcomes - Service Providers

Target #1

Target: Number of service providers who will take action to educate/advise farmers:

Target: The educational action(s) they will take:

Target: The number of farmers who will be educated/advised by the service providers:

150

Target: Total size/scale of the farms these farmers manage (e.g. total acres or animal units managed, gross sales or production volume, etc.):

The educational action(s) taken:

Additional Project Outcomes

Assessment of Project Approach and Areas of Further Study:

I had planned for an in-person meeting about poultry IPM, but due to biosecurity issues and low attendance, the class was postponed till winter/spring of next year.

I had planned for an in-person meeting about urban IPM, but after having to postpone due to low attendance, I surveyed several Ag non-profits that provided education to new and beginning small-scale farmers and found that it was more convenient for them to participate in lunch and learn. Based on this information, I moved the Small Farm IPM class to a multiweek lunch and learn format, with the plan of offering a follow-up hands-on class in the early summer of next year.

SARE Outreach

Outreach about SARE:

SARE information tables were present at several Maryland events and trainings including:

2023 Future Harvest Conference
2023 Eastern Shore Vegetable Grower Meeting
2023 Lower Shore Agronomy Day
2023 UMD AGNR Cornerstone Event
2023 Maryland International Agriculture and Environment Conference
2024 Future Harvest Conference
2024 Northern Maryland Fruit and Vegetable Growers Meeting
2024 Eastern Shore Vegetable Grower Meeting
2024 Lower Shore Agronomy Day
2024 Delmarva Soil Summit
2024 UME Transition to Organic Production Workshop
2024 UMES Showcase
2024 UME Lower Shore Field Day
2024 UMES Small Farm Conference

Articles about SARE and SARE grants ran in the UME Fruit and Vegetable Newsletter and UME Agronomy Newsletter.

Recieved information about SARE grant programs and information resouces:

Audience	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Total
Service providers	50	50	0	100
Farmers	150	150	0	300

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Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.