The goal of this project is to reduce neonicotinoid seed treatments (NSTS) applied to row crops in vermont

The objective is to provide farmers education and experience with scouting and assessing action thresholds for early season pests in row crops. Through this newly gained knowledge farmers will be able to make more informed decisions as to whether a NST is needed to prevent any crop losses. The outputs of the project include six on-farm demonstrations, 30 one-on-one consultations, six on-farm fields days, one webinar series, two crop specific scouting factsheets, and eight presentations to grower and stakeholder audiences. The applicant expects to educate over 1000 northeastern growers on IPM practices, provide 250 farmers with hands-on training, and reduce NSTS on at least 1500 acres.activities:a variety of activities will occur to educate farmers on how to scout for soil pests, evaluate thresholds, and determine pest management actions in corn and soybean fields in vermont. Ultimately, helping farmers implement integrated pest management (IPM) practices to avoid superfluous NSTS if they are not necessary. 1. Six partner farms will serve as demonstration sites where scouting, thresholds, and actions are taken to determine if pesticides are warranted. Ten acres of corn or soybeans will be used for the demonstration on each farm. Half the field will use the farmer's current practices and half of the field will use IPM practices. These fields will serve as educational sites where farmers and other agricultural industry stakeholders can learn about IPM tactics for soil pests that impact corn and soybean. 2. Thirty partner farms will be active participants in the two-year project to gain direct experience and one-on-one technical assistance with scouting, action thresholds, and management decisions. These farms will work with project team to select at least one field to scout, receive scouting tools, and assistance with scouting and action thresholds. 3. Webinar series - a winter pest management webinar series will be held in JAN/FEB of 2022. The webinar series will highlight pests of corn and soybeans, scouting and monitoring of these pests, action thresholds, and pest management tools. Environmental concerns related to pesticides and overuse will also be covered. 4. On-farm field days - three field days per year held at demonstration farms will provide participants with hands-on training for scouting, identification, and action thresholds. Presentation at local and regional winter conferences - no-till cover crop conference, grain conference, dairy meetings, and certified crop advisor conferences will serve as a platform to deliver project information to our target audience. In 2022, an IPM intensive will be held at the annual no-till cover crop conference to train stakeholders and in 2023 a farmer-to-farmer session to highlight IPM outcomes. Scouting factsheets for corn and soybean - factsheets highlighting protocols, action thresholds, and management options will be developed and posted on the WWW.UVM.EDU/nwcrops website.subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:deliverables: 1. Conduct 6 on-farm demonstration sites that engage key farmers in adopting IPM strategies for managing soil pests in corn and soybeans in 2022 and 2023. 2. Conduct 6 on-farm field days at the demonstration sites that provide hands-on IPM training to farmers and agricultural industry stakeholders on IPM strategies for management of soil pests in corn and soybeans in 2022 and 2023. 3. Coordinate with 30 partner farms (2000 acres) will receive one-on-one training and tools to implement scouting and action thresholds in 2021 and 2022. 4. Develop and present a 4-part webinar series focused on soil pests of corn and soybeans, scouting, thresholds, and IPM strategies to reduce the prophylactic use of neonicotinoids in the winter of 2022. 5. Conduct 2-scouting prot