Welcome - Part II

Bill Hutchison, University of Minnesota Extension Service, and Jeanne Ciborowski, MDA, Co-Editors

For many of you, this may be your first issue of the “MN Vegetable IPM Newsletter.” Since the first issue was published in August, 1999, several new subscribers have been added to our mailing list. For those of you who are new subscribers, we provide a brief summary of the history and purpose of the newsletter. This newsletter reflects a new partnership between the University of Minnesota Extension Service and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). The newsletter is being developed as part of a grant awarded to the MDA by the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI). The U of M and MDA will work cooperatively to communicate timely pest alerts and to provide research-based integrated pest management strategies for growers.

The newsletter initially focused on sweet corn and insect pest management. However, we plan to gradually expand the newsletter to include information on other pests and vegetable crop issues, including updates on the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), and developments in vegetable biotechnology. A key feature during the growing season, is the collection and synthesis of pest activity, and rapid delivery of appropriate management options. Our goal is that the MN Vegetable IPM Newsletter will become your primary centralized source for real-time Vegetable Crop information, including the most current pest activity data, chemical and non-chemical control options, and U of M research summaries on a variety of topics. For example, we plan to provide general production tips in the areas of soil fertility recommendations, variety trial results, and irrigation management. In summary, we believe this can become an efficient link that connects your production needs with U of M and MDA resources.

The newsletter is also accessible in a variety of ways – by mail, the World Wide Web, fax, or email if requested. Newsletter access via the WWW is through the Minnesota Extension Service “VegEdge” site at: http://www.vegedge.umn.edu/. From the welcome page, click on “Vegetable IPM Newsletters” and the “MN Vegetable IPM Newsletter.” The VegEdge site will also be used to maintain all previous issues of the newsletter. These can be found at: http://www.vegedge.umn.edu/mnvegnew/mnindex.htm. Once you have entered these into your www browser (Netscape or Microsoft Explorer), “bookmark” the address for fast access throughout the year. The newsletter will be available 3-4 times/month during the growing season, and 1-2 times/month during the fall and winter months. Finally, from the ‘VegEdge’ site, you can also click on newsletters from the Midwest Region Map, and quickly connect to other state newsletters throughout the region. This is particularly useful to processors who may have vegetable crops produced in several neighboring states.

In addition to the U of M Extension Service and the MDA IPM Program, this newsletter is sponsored by the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Assoc. (MFVGA), Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), MDA Minnesota Grown program, MDA Crop Pest Survey Group, and the Minnesota Pesticide Impact Assessment Program (PIAP).

Co-Editors: Bill Hutchison, Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, hutch002@tc.umn.edu
Jeanne Ciborowski, IPM Program, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us
Production Editor: Suzanne Wold, Research Specialist, University of Minnesota, woldx018@tc.umn.edu

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 directions of the manufacturer

Last Revised August 22, 2002.
The University, including the Minnesota Extension Service, is an equal opportunity educator and employer.©1999 Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Contact copyright@extension.umn.edu for information on reproduction or use of this material.