Nutrient & Pesticide Management Extension Outreach

EXTENSION – TARGET AUDIENCE: OTHERS

Commercial Industry
Land Grant University Extension educates and trains members of the commercial industry, including nursery owners, landscapers, golf course managers, and commercial greenhouse owners how to make wise nutrient and pesticide management decisions around their home that will minimize ground and surface water contamination. Here is a sampling of such Extension programs.

A multi-state e-learning educational resource center for water and nutrient management in the nursery and greenhouse industries was developed at the University of Maryland. This Knowledge Center provides up-to-date information for the implementation of water and nutrient best management practices, to change behavior at the individual farm level. Twenty-one education modules will be housed on this website.

University of Maryland Extension staff joined with Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and Lebanon-Seaboard to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to reduce phosphorus (P) levels in commercial fertilizer. Scotts, with its hold on half the U.S. do-it-yourself market, pledged last month to reduce P in their products by 50 percent over the next 2 years. They have also agreed to retool their entire DIY fertilizer line by 2008. After that, they will address nitrogen levels.

The Michigan Turfgrass Stewardship Initiative is expanding its environmental stewardship programs toward turfgrass professionals in order to effect improvements in water quality.

An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) manual for Midwest landscapes was developed to educate growers, landscapers, managers, and consumers in the principles of IPM and its application to managing the common insect species. The manual from the University of Minnesota emphasizes reduction of insecticides and reduction of non-target effect grass s on the environment.

Ohio State University staff are developing educational material and a simple scouting tool suitable for use by homeowners and lawn care technicians and comparing the biological, aesthetic, and economic effectiveness of a standard non-IPM program with a technician driven IPM approach backed by homeowner education. Funding was provided by the North Central IPM Center.

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Water Program jointly sponsored the “From Our Backyards to the Bay: An Urban Nutrient Management” Forum which gathered turf researchers, Land Grant University Extension, and commercial fertilizer representatives to learn and communicate the latest in fertilizer needs and strategies for home lawns.

University of California Cooperative Extension developed a water quality self assessment as part of a large-scale educational program to assist the local greenhouse and nursery industry in meeting stringent regulatory requirement in irrigation runoff.

Policy Makers
people attending outdoor workshop Using a variety of programming including workshops, hands-on training, websites and media publications, Extension programs can educate community decision makers on water quality and watershed management issues. Programs such as NEMO (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials) use GIS and other tools to educate local land use decision makers about the relationship between land use, nutrient and pesticide management, and natural resource protection.

The National NEMO Network is a network of educational programs helping communities better protect natural resources while accommodating growth. The programs within the network are non-regulatory, research-based outreach efforts that emphasize natural resource-based land use planning and better site design. Catalyzed by NEMO educational programs and information, towns throughout the nation have changed their land use plans, regulations, policies and procedures which will protect and improve water quality. Detailed program impacts are available online.

In 2006, URI NEMO and the New England Onsite Wastewater Training Program (NE OWTP) teamed up to provide a workshop on “Local Wastewater Management: Starting It, Running It, and Clearing the Hurdles.” This workshop focused on local decision makers and extension professionals, highlighting the struggles and successes of Rhode Island communities who have effectively implemented plans to protect public health and manage water quality from a watershed perspective.

Penn State University Extension introduced the Mid-Atlantic Regional Water Program’s phosphorus budgets to government agencies, environmental organizations, and industry in order to encourage the use of this tool by decision makers.