by Margaret Haining Cowles
Syracuse, NY - Two awards for outstanding work in integrated pest management for vegetables were presented by the New York State IPM Program on February 11 at the New York State Vegetable Conference in Syracuse. An individual award was given to Dr. Anthony Shelton, a Cornell University entomologist. A team award went to the Rochester, 
New York-based retailer Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., represented by Bill Pool, its manager of food safety and regulation, and to vegetable growers Lynn Fish and Kris and Jim Gray, of Shortsville; Doug Mason, of Williamson; and Alan and Jeffrey Werner, of Rush.
The vegetable conference award ceremony was one of six ceremonies scheduled at various grower meetings in 1997 to present a total of eight "Excellence in IPM Awards." This was the second year such awards have been given.
"The purpose of these awards is to honor individuals and organizations for their pursuit of new systems of integrated pest management and their efforts to share their experiences with others," explains Jim Tette, director of the New York State IPM Program. He was joined by Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences dean Daryl B. Lund in conferring the two vegetable IPM awards.
Tony Shelton, Geneva, NY
The award given to Dr. Shelton recognizes his influence in shaping the vegetable IPM Program in New York and IPM programs nationwide since the 1970s. In the early days of IPM Shelton, who is now an associate director of research and a professor of entomology at Cornell, developed and implemented scouting procedures and thresholds for nine important insect pests of crucifers, onions, and sweet corn.
Shelton's research has included insect-resistant plant varieties, monitoring of insect pests, insecticide resistance, conservation and enhancement of natural enemies, use of pathogens and cultural practices to reduce insect pressure, and encouragement of the adoption of IPM. He has played an active role in teaching farmers how to make use of the research results and has spent considerable effort in modifying techniques to fit particular farm situations.
The growers receiving the IPM award all supplied IPM-grown vegetables to Wegmans in 1996. In addition, they volunteered many hours of their time to serve on a committee with Wegmans representatives and Cornell folks to set the standards for growing IPM-labeled sweet corn. This committee formulated the "elements of IPM" for sweet corn (a list of protocols for growers to follow), identified areas in which participating growers would need more education on IPM methods, set goals for the project, and established the documentation process by which growers could verify their achievement of the project goals.
Representatives from Comstock Michigan Fruit joined in the process and helped to develop elements for six processed and frozen vegetables to be sold under IPM labels: beets, cabbage for kraut, carrots, corn, peas, and snap beans. Comstock Michigan Fruit, long a proponent of IPM, was honored with an "Excellence in IPM Award" in 1996.
Bill Pool, Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., Rochester, NY
The initiation by Wegmans Food Markets of the program to document and market the use of IPM by their suppliers, led by Bill Pool, its manager of food safety and regulation, will have continuing and far-reaching effects on the practice of IPM by growers in New York and across the United States. Already Wegmans is creating among consumers a greater awareness of the wise use of IPM in agriculture.
Colleen Wegman, category manager for natural foods, has provided leadership within the company to move in the direction of IPM-labeled products. Bill Pool has provided the "hands-on" leadership in relations with Comstock Michigan Fruit, Cornell University, and the growers.
Lynn Fish, Shortsville, NY
Lynn Fish grew up on the Shortsville farm he now owns. Over half of his 200 acres are planted in sweet corn. The remaining acres are planted in a variety of fresh market vegetables-tomatoes, summer and winter squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, gourds, and 13 varieties of hot peppers. In addition to having sold produce to Wegmans for the past 10 years, Lynn and his wife, his mother, and his sister operate four vegetable stands on the property.
Lynn is not a newcomer when it comes to practicing IPM. The majority of his late corn acreage has been planted in a rye cover crop for the past 10 years, and he uses rotation on all of his fresh-market vegetables besides corn. He has always been interested in learning more about the need to better manage his pesticides. In 1996 Lynn hired a scout to help him monitor for European corn borer.
Kris and Jim Gray, Shortsville, NY
Kris and Jim Gray own and manage Fresh-Ayr Farm Market-over 1,000 acres in Shortsville-in partnership with Kris' father George Ayres and her brother Jeremy Ayres. They began selling vegetables to Wegmans Food Markets in 1990. The Grays have been using IPM practices for the past four or five years. The only change necessitated by their participation in the IPM project with Wegmans was an increase in record keeping - additional documentation of their scouting and pest thresholds.
Doug Mason, Williamson, NY
Doug Mason is a sixth-generation farmer from Williamson, New York. His family has farmed the same land since 1816. Mason Farms consists of 350 to 400 acres of muck, clay, sand, and upland soils on which Doug grows 30 to 40 different crops.
Doug started using IPM methods 20 years ago with the use of scouting in his fruit crops. He is a member of the Wayne County Pest Management Cooperative, which disseminates information about fruit IPM. Doug has also participated in integrated crop management practices for potatoes and peppers, using many IPM practices. He now hires a private crop consultant to help him with his pest management decisions.
Doug rotates 80 percent of his vegetable crops and sometimes plants his muck in a cover crop to give it a rest. He has been experimenting with the use of plastic covers and drip irrigation on raised beds for the past 10 years, with good results on some crops.
Alan and Jeffrey Werner, Rush, NY
Alan and Jeffrey Werner are brothers who formed a partnership in 1988 to farm 450 acres in Rush, New York. While fresh-market sweet corn is their largest crop, they sell several other fresh-market vegetables. One-third of their acreage is planted in small grains, used mostly for rotation. They also have 30,000 square feet in greenhouses, where they sell bedding plants.
Werner Farms was the "test farm" for Wegmans in the summer of 1995, supplying the first IPM-labeled fresh-market sweet corn to be marketed by Wegmans. In 1996 Jeffrey and Alan supplied seven Wegmans stores with IPM-grown sweet corn every day during July, August, and September. The Werners use a crop consultant to scout their corn and appreciate his keeping them informed of weather developments as a part of his pest management recommendations.
The Werner brothers were already using several IPM methods as well as integrated crop management methods prior to their involvement in this effort. They use cover crops and rotation, and have scouted for fall armyworm at the silk stage. Sticky cards are used in their greenhouses for pest monitoring. Only one change was necessitated by Jeffrey's and Alan's participation in the IPM project: the addition of scouting for insect egg masses.
(To access 300 dpi scan, click on above photographs.)
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