The Central Sands region of Wisconsin is famous for the water attractions around the Wisconsin Dells and the diversity of its landscapes and wildlife. It is home to Sandhill Cranes, blue-ribbon trout streams and the endangered Karner Blue butterfly. It is also home to intensive agriculture, including some 85,000 acres of potatoes.
The state's potato industry has struggled for years to balance the needs of intensive agriculture and the environment. High-value and vulnerable crops, like potatoes, require aggressive effort to manage pests and sustain soil fertility. Some of the practices and inputs relied on by the region's growers have placed shallow groundwater and other water resources in jeopardy. Pest management costs have risen sharply in recent years and concerns persist over the impact of pesticides on farm families, rural community health and wildlife.
In the mid-1980s the highly toxic insecticide aldicarb was detected regularly in the region's drinking water, in some cases at levels triggering serious health concerns. The need for less chemical-dependent pest management systems evolved quickly from a desirable longer-term goal to a pressing near-term necessity
Through teamwork and research, rapid progress has been made in better managing pests and pesticide applications. But growers and industry leaders are not satisfied. Work continues with crop consultants, the agribusiness community and researchers at the University of Wisconsin to develop new and more effective biointensive IPM systems. Promising new strategies are on the horizon. A new generation of biologically based alternatives is under active exploration.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) joined the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) in this project to pursue a shared vision. The project team believes that biointensive IPM is the surest way to sustain profitable agriculture while enhancing environmental quality and reducing risks stemming from agricultural production systems. Our common goal is to prove it.
Project Goals and Memorandum of Understanding
Over the last five years WWF has carried out a project focusing on the prevention of agricultural pollution in the Great Lakes Basin. Lessening reliance on pesticides emerged as a priority goal, and IPM was identified as the surest way to achieve it. A series of meetings were held with grower groups to explore needed steps and how WWF could help accelerate progress.One commodity group -- the WPVGA -- demonstrated a particularly strong commitment to IPM. Moreover, WPVGA was willing to work with WWF and other stakeholders to set measurable goals and monitor progress using credible measurement methodology. Preliminary discussion in 1994 was followed by a long, collaborative process to shape project goals and activities, culminating in the announcement in October 1996 of the WWF-WPVGA potato IPM project.
Cooperators and Sponsors
The project was designed by and is being carried out by the World Wildlife Fund, U.S.A. (WWF) and the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA).
Through the project WWF hopes to demonstrate --
- The value of setting measurable pesticide use, risk, and IPM adoption goals, and ways to do so.
- How monitoring and rewarding progress toward concrete goals can build the momentum needed to overcome technical and marketplace hurdles.
- A cooperative model for partnerships involving environmental and commodity groups committed to common goals.
- Analytical tools and policy innovations that will help achieve national IPM, food safety, and environmental quality goals.
For more information on WWF and its activities in the project, contact Project Officer Sarah Lynch at 202-778-9781.
Wisconcin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association
The WPVGA and its grower-members hope the project will --
- Document progress in the adoption of biointensive IPM and reduction in reliance on high-risk pesticides.
- Quantify public health and environmental gains achieved as a result of industry-wide commitment to IPM.
- Gain recognition for Wisconsin potato products, especially in quality-conscious markets.
- Support policy reform and public and private investments needed to enhance the effectiveness and lower the cost of biointensive IPM.
Project activities are shaped and guided by an Advisory Committee --
List of advisory committee members, with affiliations.
Charles Benbrook serves as a consultant to the project. He is responsible for general management, the development and testing of analytical methodologies, and developing this project web site.
Press About the Project
- Tremors of Change, Editorial in Ag Consultant, Feb. 1997,
by Jim Sulecki
- Wisconsin growers moving toward IPM Editorial in The Packer, by Larry Waterfield
