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Funded Project

Funding Program: Working Groups

Project Title: 2019 Great Lakes Urban Agriculture Working Group

Project Director (PD): Jacqueline Kowalski [1]

Lead State: OH Lead Organization: Ohio State University

Undesignated Funding: $9,874

Start Date: Mar-01-2019 End Date: Feb-29-2020

Pests Involved: Vegetable/Fruit Pests/Weeds/Wildlife

Site/Commodity: North Central Region

Area of Emphasis: Urban Agriculture

Summary: Urban agriculture continues to gain momentum particularly in Rust Belt cities where land re-use is a critical priority for city planners. Urban farms are developed and managed as either social (not-for-profit) or for-profit enterprises. Community gardens are also critical to re-greening strategies in the region and provide fresh produce to many who might not have adequate access. Urban farmers are often new and beginning farmers and inexperience and lack of knowledge of integrated pest management strategies which have led to decreased yields well as decreased potential profits. To address this problem, the Great Lakes Urban Agriculture IPM working group was formed in 2016 and is seeking renewal for the 2019 grant cycle. The approach of the working group will be to build upon our existing network and to complete the objectives of the formation of the 2019-2020 working group which are 1) to hold a regional meeting of University agriculture professionals and stakeholders in order to continue to grow an information sharing-network of urban agriculture professionals (Ohio, March 2019), 2) plan a monthly Working Group ZOOM check in meeting for the working group members and other interested stakeholders, 3) create three information fact sheets, and 4) build upon a series of information cards on pests of importance to serve the integrated pest management needs of urban gardeners (2 new cards focusing on incorporating pollinator habitat). The beneficiaries of the activities of this working group will be urban farmers and community programs that support urban farms and community gardeners. These activities will help meet the goals of improved understanding of current IPM issues across disciplines, increased/new IPM knowledge, increased adoption of IPM practices and improved economic impacts for urban farmers. The outcomes will also inform the research community of IPM research needs for urban farmers. Objectives: The proposed objectives for the 2019 Great Lakes Urban Agriculture working group are to: 1) Organize an annual networking meeting-This meeting will provide the members of the working group the opportunity to network and discuss concerns and needs that are being observed their urban agriculture communities. Working group members will be encouraged to share their work via presentation and posters. We will also discuss results of previous year’s accomplishments and discuss future directions. Local stakeholders will also be invited to attend. Urban farm tours will also be included. The farm tours provide an opportunity for the group to talk to urban farmers about their most challenging IPM needs. The meeting will be 1.5 days long. The structure of the first day will consist of introductions of working group members, presentations, lunch break and then a tour of urban farms. The second day will be a half-day in which we will finish presentations, debrief on tour observations and complete our business meeting. 2) Plan a monthly Working Group ZOOM check in meeting-The adoption of on-line meeting platforms has changed the way groups have been able to interact. In order to maintain contact and complete deliverables a monthly ZOOM meeting will be planned with different focus area each month. 3) Create three Fact Sheets relating to the a) scouting thresholds for common insect vegetable pests, b) pesticide and pest management terminology and pesticide labels and c) urban farm/garden planning for pest management. Urban farmers and community gardeners are interested in using “soft chemicals” such as insecticidal soap, horticultural oils, etc., however, many don’t have a good understanding of terminology, effective application strategies, and modes of action. While some of this information is included in multi-state spray guides, the information is not always easily understandable by those without agricultural history. Based on feedback from urban farmers, three Fact Sheets will be created to help urban farmers and community gardeners make better informed production choices. These fact sheets will be available in print form but also easily downloadable from member’s websites. 4) Complete a third series of information cards (2 new ones) –Based on feedback from urban farmers and community garden we would like to have more information on farm planning for pollinators. The decision to use a print medium is due to previous successes that the working group members have had with using printed materials such as fact cards and guides. The participating organizations will also have the opportunity to house the cards on their websites for download by the public.

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