USDA Announces Update to National Road Map for Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

USDA Announces Update to National Road Map for Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

WASHINGTON, October 24, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today the first update since 2013 of the National Road Map for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) (PDF, 340 KB).

The update culminates a yearlong review by the Federal Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Coordinating Committee (FIPMCC), a joint effort that is coordinated by the Office of Pest Management Policy in the Office of USDA’s Chief Economist with representatives of all federal agencies with responsibilities in IPM research, implementation, or education programs. These agencies include Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of the Interior (DOI), and Department of Defense (DoD).

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a science-based, sustainable decision-making process that uses information on pest biology, environmental data, and technology to manage pest damage in a way that minimizes both economic costs and risks to people, property, and the environment.

The National Road Map for Integrated Pest Management (IPM), first introduced in 2004, is periodically updated to reflect the evolving science, practice, and nature of IPM. The Road Map provides guidance to the IPM community on the adoption of effective, economical, and safe IPM practices, and on the development of new practices where needed. The guidance defines, prioritizes, and articulates pest management challenges across many landscapes, including: agriculture, forests, parks, wildlife refuges, military bases, as well as in residential, and public areas, such as public housing and schools. The Road Map also helps to identify priorities for IPM research, technology, education and implementation through information exchange and coordination among federal and non-federal researchers, educators, technology innovators, and IPM practitioners.

About OCE Office of Pest Management Policy

The USDA’s Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP) is responsible for the development and coordination of Department policy on pest management and pesticides. It coordinates activities and services of the Department, including research, extension, and education activities, coordinates interagency activities, and consults with agricultural producers that may be affected by USDA-related pest management or pesticide-related activities or actions. OPMP also works with EPA on pesticide and water pollution issues and represents USDA at national and international scientific and policy conferences.

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President Donald Trump waded into the Western water wars Friday

President Donald Trump waded into the Western water wars Friday, giving a boost to embattled Republican congressmen with a presidential memorandum containing deadlines for federal regulators to finish evaluating the environmental impacts of major water projects in California and the Pacific Northwest.
Trump signed the memo in Arizona with four California congressmen, including Republican Rep. Jeff Denham, who represents the northern San Joaquin Valley and is in a tight race with Josh Harder, a business teacher at Modesto Junior College. Other representatives who were at the signing include Republicans David Valadao, who represents the southern half of the Central Valley, Devin Nunes, whose district also includes the San Joaquin Valley, and Tom McClintock, whose district includes all or part of 10 counties  stretching from Placer in the north to Fresno in the south.
Those lawmakers have blasted what critics are calling a “water grab” by the California State Water Resources Control Board to re-allocate water flowing through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to help sustain endangered fish species and restore the Bay-Delta ecosystem. But that would mean less water for farmers in the state’s Central Valley, who have been sharply critical of the plan.
“This will move things along at a record clip,” Trump said at the memo signing. “And you’ll have a lot of water," he added, speaking to the congressmen standing by his side. "I hope you’ll enjoy the water you’ll have.” Trump also praised the lawmakers as "tremendous people."
The administration said in a “fact sheet” that “expedited regulatory processes will provide certainty for California farmers who need more water to restore farmlands crippled by drought and regulation.”
Specifically, the memo directs the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to complete their reviews of the impact of flows from the Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project by June 15. The memo also directs FWS and NMFS to complete their reviews of the Klamath Irrigation Project by August 2019, and their reviews of the Federal Columbia River System by 2020.
The memo also would require the Interior and Commerce departments to work together to identify an official to coordinate the departments’ environmental reviews for each project.
Each official would then identify “regulations and procedures that potentially burden the project and develop a proposed plan … to appropriately suspend, revise, or rescind any regulations or procedures that unduly burden the project beyond the degree necessary to protect the public interest or otherwise comply with the law,” the memo said.
“From my perspective, today’s action might be the most significant action taken by a president on Western water in my lifetime,” Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt said on a call with reporters before the signing.
In a statement, Denham, Valadao, McClintock and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, another Californian, hailed the president’s memo, calling it “an immense relief for the farmers and families of the San Joaquin Valley and communities across California.”

“Due to the actions of environmental extremists and overzealous bureaucrats, California has been suffering from a years-long water crisis that has wreaked havoc in Central Valley farming communities that feed tens of millions of Americans,” they said. “Productive land has gone fallow and farmworkers have lost their jobs. Communities across California have also been devastated as senseless government regulations have mandated that billions of gallons of water be flushed out to the ocean and wasted.

“Now, with this executive action, there is a strict timetable for rewriting the biological opinions that lie at the root of the water crisis,” the congressmen said. “This executive action also prioritizes building critical projects to expand water storage in our state so that we can store more water during wet years for use in dry years.”
But Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, said  that “the real water grab is what Congressman Denham is inflicting on the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary.” She said Denham “is leading the charge to interfere with state rights to oversee and operate its water delivery systems, by pushing President Trump for federal intervention in the Water Quality Plan for the Bay-Delta currently before the State Water Resources Control Board. In the process, he is splitting his own district, forgetting what is important to his constituents in San Joaquin County – a healthy and restored Delta.”
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com

Secretary Sonny Perdue Appoints New Members to USDA NAREEE Advisory Board

PRESS RELEASE

Secretary Sonny Perdue Appoints New Members to USDA NAREEE Advisory Board

WASHINGTON, DC, October 24, 2018 - Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue today announced the appointment of 10 members to serve on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board.

 

“These members of the NAREEE Advisory Board help ensure that our work at USDA is facts-based, data-driven, and customer-focused,” Perdue said. “They bring real-world knowledge and expertise that is invaluable to our efforts.”

The NAREEE Board regularly advises the Secretary and land-grant colleges and universities on top national priorities and policies related to food and agricultural research, education, extension, and economics.  The Board’s main objective is to contribute to effective federal agricultural research, education and economics programs through broad stakeholder feedback and sound science. Board members also perform an annual review of the relevance of the research, education, economics, and extension programs at USDA and the adequacy of funding for those programs.

The 10 appointees announced today will serve three-year terms that expire September 30. They are (the category of stakeholder that each represents is noted in parentheses):

• Lisabeth Hobart, Government Relations Manager, GROWMARK Inc., Bloomington, IL (Category B. Farm Cooperatives);
• Chalmers Carr III, Owner, Titan Farms, Ridge Spring, SC (Category D. Plant Commodity Producer);
• Dr. Edmund Buckner, Dean & Director, Land Grant Programs, Alcorn State University, Lorman, MS (Category E. National Aquaculture Association);
• Dr. John Coupland, Professor of Food Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (Category H. National Food Science Organization);
• Dr. Sarah Francis, Associate Professor of Human Sciences, Nutrition and Wellness, Iowa State University, Ames, IA Category J. National Nutritional Science Society);
• Dr. David Baltensperger, Department Head, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (Category K. 1862 Land-Grant Colleges and Universities);
• Dr. James Allan, Executive Director of the School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ (Category V.  National Forestry Group);
• Chad Ellis, Industry Relations, Manager, Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK (Category W. National Conservation or Natural Resource Groups);
• Dr. Robert Zeigler, Director General and CEO Emeritus, International Rice Research Institute, Portland, OR (Category X. Private Sector Organization involved in International Development); and
• Dr. Jayson Lusk, Department Head, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (Category Y. National Social Science Association).

Each of the 25 NAREEE Advisory Board members represents a specific category of U.S. Agricultural stakeholders as outlined in the Agricultural Act of 2014. The categories  include farming or ranching, food production and processing, forestry research, crop and animal science, land-grant institutions, non-land grant college or university with a historic commitment to research in the food and agricultural sciences, food retailing and marketing, rural economic development, and natural resource and consumer interest groups, among many others. Each member serves a 2-3 year appointment.  Terms for members overlap so that approximately one-third of the Board is replaced and/or reappointed each year.

For additional information, please contact Michele Esch, Executive Director, NAREEE Advisory Board, Room 332A, Jamie L. Whitten Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC  20250-0321, Telephone: 202-720-3684, Fax: 202-720-6199, or e-mail: nareee@ars.usda.gov or visit our website at nareeeab.ree.usda.gov

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Winter Weather Driving Tips Road Conditions for Southern New Mexico

Winter Weather Driving Tips

Road Conditions for Southern New Mexico

The NMDOT has prepared their personnel and equipment in efforts to support the need of law enforcement and emergency responders. The NMDOT will work in conjunction with emergency response as we coordinate our efforts with any possible traffic interferences that we may encounter.

Traffic updates will be posted on the NMDOT traffic advisory web-site at http://nmroads.com as they are reported, and can be retrieved through our automated system at 511 in state, or 1-800-432-4269.

Tips to know:

• REDUCE YOUR SPEED
• The best accident prevention on snow and ice is to SLOW DOWN and leave plenty of room between you and the vehicle in front of you for emergencies.
• PRACTICE GOOD WINTER DRIVING TECHNIQUES
• Keep your gas tank full, turn on your head lights, keep your windshield washer fluid full with antifreeze, keep winter driving chains in your vehicle, have a winter survival kit which includes – flashlight, hand warmers packets, first aid supplies, high energy snacks, bottled water and read your owner’s manual for special instructions on driving 4-wheel drive vehicles and vehicles with ABS on snow and ice.
• AVOID DRIVING IN A SNOW CLOUD
• Large vehicles, such as semi-trailer trucks and snow plows, may produce dense clouds of blowing snow that make it difficult for drivers to see. When drivers encounter snow clouds, they should stay back to avoid the cloud.
• PLAN AHEAD AND BE PATIENT
• Delays are common during bad weather. Leave a little earlier and be patient with delays.
• CHECK BEFORE YOU PASS
• Know where a snow plow and blade are before trying to pass. On multi-lane highways, the plow can be in your blind spot. Before attempting to pass make sure it is safe.
• PAY ATTENTION TO WEATHER FORCASTS –TRUST THEM
• Winter storms in New Mexico can become severe quickly, so stay tuned to weather forecasts when planning your trip.
• DON’T USE CRUISE CONTROL
• Never use cruise control when the roads are in slippery conditions. Using your cruise control can reduce your control of the vehicle if your tires begin to skid or slip.
• KNOW YOUR CURRENT ROAD CONDITIONS
• Visit the NMDOT website for current road advisory information at http://nmroads.com, or dial 511 in the state.
• WEAR YOUR SEATBELT
• Wear your seatbelt and make sure all passengers also “buckle up”.

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For information please contact Ami Evans, NMDOT District One Public Information Officer at (575) 640-5981 or ami.evans@state.nm.us.