Revise/reprint "Biological Control of Insects and Mites"

Revise/reprint "Biological Control of Insects and Mites"

Objectives/Performance Targets

The project is on schedule, although writing and editing took a bit longer than planned. 2006 was the year of manuscript development. In 2007 the manuscript will be reviewed and finalized. The book will then enter the production phase. The book is scheduled for release and distribution in November 2007, with biological control workshops planned for winter/spring 2008.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Summer 2006 was writer Paul Whitaker’s opportunity to research and rewrite sections of the original manuscript to reflect new understanding in the field of biocontrol and to revise text to better meet the needs of farmers. Paul then sent this first draft to farmer editor and the manuscript’s original author, Nino Ridgway, for her comments. Nino spent winter weeks tightening up the text in preparation for review by five farmers and five academic entomologists in the spring of 2007.

The other major task in 2006 was locating photos for the new edition. A student photographer worked with author and entomologist Dan Mahr to locate past photos and secure new photos for the second edition.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Our most immediate need is to find additional funds to underwrite workshops in some of the states. Teams in IA, IL, IN, OH, MI, NE, and WI are at various stages of planning biocontrol workshops. Some are working with their SARE PDP state coordinator to help fund their workshop. The project coordinator wrote a cooperative grant proposal to the Integrated Organic Program to further underwrite workshops in Wisconsin and Michigan, but the proposal was denied.

A long-term need is to fund a follow-up study to measure the actual impact of the book and workshops on use of biological control at the field level. In expectation of raising the money at a later date, we hope that all workshops will include a request to participants to engage in a future survey to measure impact. The project coordinator is looking into potential funding sources for a follow-up survey, to be conducted after one or two growing seasons (2009 or 2010). It is hoped that such a survey will either document the success of traditional outreach efforts such as this or will provide insight on ways to improve the traditional process to better serve practitioner needs.

Collaborators: