In this Issue:
VEGETABLE NEWS
Food Alliance Certification and Treatment Thresholds
APPLE NEWS
Key Apple Pests of Concern during the Summer and Fall
Weekly Trap Counts: July 5 - July 14, 2005
| Vol 2 No.10 | July 18, 2005 |
Food Alliance Certification and Treatment Thresholds
By Ray Kirsch, Midwest Certification Coordinator for Food Alliance, 651-653-0618, ray@foodalliance.org
As the growing season progresses, the insects and diseases interested in our Midwestern crops appear. As readers of this newsletter know, a tenet of IPM is the use of treatment thresholds. It might be OK to share a bit of the crop with loopers or earworms, but it won't do if they want to take too much. And how much is too much? Well, the answer varies. From an economic perspective, it makes sense to treat for insects and diseases when, on balance, the value of the crop saved is greater than the expense of the treatment.
General guidance on thresholds can be found in the Midwest Vegetable Production Guide, www.entm.purdue.edu/entomology/ext/targets/ID/
However, there is more to thresholds than first meets the eye. For example, you need to know the value of your crops. The value certainly depends on your marketing strategies. Additionally, you need to know what treatments are available and their costs. Finally, you need to know where specific fields are at with respect to your thresholds. Thus, it takes time and energy to trap, sample, and count.
For most producers, the time spent on thresholds is time well spent. Thresholds are an integral part of managing risks. What most producers do not realize is how many incentives there are for using thresholds. A relatively new incentive for producers is third-party certification. When you certify your production, you connect with consumers on an issue they care about – local, environmentally friendly foods. Thus, consumers can pay you for IPM and for using thresholds.
One of the newer and more inclusive certifications available to producers is Food Alliance certification. Food Alliance certification supports the use of thresholds as well as cultural and biological controls. Food Alliance certification allows for a wide range of treatment options, including new, environmentally-friendly chemistries. So producers who are nervous about not having enough risk management tools in their toolbox can rest easy. Food Alliance certification provides these tools.
And not only the tools, but also the financial incentive to use these tools and thresholds. Food Alliance certified producers connect with consumers and use their certification to open new markets and build premium prices. The natural and organic foods business is growing at 10-20% per year. Food Alliance certified producers are taking advantage of this growth with more information available at: www.foodalliance.org/certification/producers/index.html
So, if managing risks with thresholds is a good idea, then getting paid for using thresholds through Food Alliance certification is an even better idea. Certification provides an additional reward for managing risks with thresholds. When you spend time on thresholds, it's time well spent. When you spend time getting certified it's an investment that pays dividends.
For an application or more information about Food Alliance, contact Ray. You can also learn more (and download an application) at the Food Alliance website: www.foodalliance.org .
Editors note: This article and issue of the MN Fruit and Vegetable IPM News is sponsored, in part, by the Midwest Food Alliance, St. Paul , MN . As with all sponsors, reference to products or services mentioned in this publication is not intended to be an endorsement to the exclusion of others which may be similar.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Co-Editors: Bill Hutchison (hutch002@umn.edu), Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Jeanne Ciborowski, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Ag. Resources Management and Development Division, and Suzanne Wold-Burkness (woldx018@umn.edu), Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota
The Newsletter is published weekly from May through August, cooperatively, by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the University of Minnesota (U of MN). Reports are posted on the U of MN and MDA web sites on Fridays. If you have suggestions and/or comments, please send your contributions by 4 p.m., Wednesday to Jeanne Ciborowski, 651-297-3217, jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us , MDA, 90 W. Plato Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55107-2094. You can access the Newsletter at the U of MN web site in htm format at: www.vegedge.umn.edu/MNFruit&VegNews/mnindex.htm and at the MDA web site in pdf format at: www.mda.state.mn.us/biocon/fruitreports/
Partial funding for this publication is provided through partnership agreements with the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (MFVGA) and the United States Department of Agriculture – Risk Management Agency (RMA). These institutions are equal opportunity providers.
DISCLAIMER
Reference to products in this publication is not intended to be an endorsement to the exclusion of others which may have similar uses. Any person using products listed in this publication assumes full responsibility for their use in accordance with current manufacturer directions.
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