pests and pesticides

The Department of Pesticide Regulation is hosting a series of public meetings to hear feedback on their strategic plan. This plan will set their agenda for the next five years, and organic is not mentioned at all. In fact, the Department intends to create new certifications for sustainable pest management—making farmers jump through more hoops. Please consider joining a public meeting and telling the Department that organic certification is the sustainable pest management certification.

Dr. Brian Hogg at the USDA in Albany, California, is seeking sites for research on a parasitic wasp that was recently found attacking bagrada bug eggs in California. 

California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has tapped a diverse group of experts to serve in its new Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) Work Group, which will advise DPR on how to implement a transition away from harmful chemicals–a transition that Governor Gavin Newson says is a high priority for the state.  

Going directly to those hurt most by the devastating citrus greening disease, researchers are asking organic citrus growers and other organic stakeholders to help them develop a holistic research program in their fight against the ruinous disease.

As in past years, Dr. Brian Hogg at USDA’s Western Regional Research Center in Albany, California, is seeking research sites for bagrada bug research, and is interested to hear about bagrada bug infestations anywhere in California. 

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is now accepting grant applications for its Biologically Integrated Farming Systems Program (BIFS) and its Proactive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Solutions Program, administered by the Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis.

Biologically Integrated Farming Systems Program Grants

The goal of BIFS is to fund on-farm demonstration and evaluation of innovative biologically-based farming systems that employ IPM strategies.

Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) and our partners are pleased to announce our fourth upcoming field day as part of our All Things Avian Series. 

If you want more help with pest control, consider supporting beneficial birds. Learn who these birds are, what they need, and how to provide for them. The overwhelming majority of songbirds are beneficial in the spring and early summer when they feed insects to their nestlings. We’ll also discuss the few bird species that can be pests and how manage them. 

Oak Titmouse photo by Norman Uyeda

Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) and our partners are pleased to announce four upcoming field days as part of our All Things Avian Series.