Education About Sustainable Pest Management with Hmong Farmers

View the project final report

Commodities

• Vegetables: beans, broccoli, cucurbits, eggplant, greens (leafy), onions, peas (culinary), peppers, sweet corn
• Additional Plants: herbs

Practices

• Education and Training: demonstration, extension, farmer to farmer, mentoring, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research
• Pest Management: chemical control, cultural control, field monitoring/scouting, flame, integrated pest management, physical control, row covers (for pests), smother crops
• Sustainable Communities: urban/rural integration

As farmers in the Northeast become more culturally diverse, certain barriers to their becoming mainstream farmers emerge. In this case, the handling and use of pesticides is at issue; the farmer, who rents land to the Hmong, will educate these growers about appropriate and reduced use by exploring with them their traditional techniques, identifying their concepts, and using what these farmers already know to convey information about sustainable pest control. A demonstration plot and workshops will be developed.