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Funded Project

Funding Program: Regional IPM Competitive Grants - Northeastern

Project Title: Creation of a Distance Learning Center to Aid Grape IPM Adoption

Project Director (PD): Timothy Weigle [1]

Lead State: NY Lead Organization: Cornell University

Cooperating State(s): Pennsylvania

Extension Funding: $45,808

Start Date: Sep-01-1999 End Date: Aug-31-2001

Site/Commodity: grapes

Summary: Grapes are ranked second in value of production among fruit crops in both New York and Pennsylvania. Approximately 30,000 acres of grapes are grown by 800 growers in the Lake Erie grape growing region of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. Ninety percent of this acreage consists of Native American V. labrusca varieties such as Concord and Niagara which are used for juice, jam, and other fresh and fermented grape products. The combined annual value of Labrusca grapes is over $33 million with yields averaging 5 tons per acre. Public concern over food and environmental safety, whether justified or not, are intensifying and costs of vineyard inputs are increasing. To maintain viability of the industry, growers must adopt economically and environmentally sound integrated pest management practices. The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is a cooperative effort between Cornell University, Pennsylvania State University, and the local extension offices in Chautauqua, Cattaragus, Niagara and Erie Counties in New York and Erie County Pennsylvania. The Lake Erie Regional Grape Extension team has the responsibility of providing education to producers of grapes in a two state region. The Lake Erie grape belt runs from the northern most part of Niagara County, NY on Lake Ontario along Lake Erie to the western side of Erie, PA. This large geographical region makes timely information transfer difficult, and personal attention almost impossible. Traditional means of information transfer include: newsletters, recorded voice mail messages, twilight meetings, in-depth short courses, coffee pot meetings, a winter grower conference, telephone conversations, office visits, and, if possible, one-on-one visits with growers. The large geographical area that the extension team covers has created a need to develop new methods to transfer specific, timely, information to the grape industry throughout the growing season and into the winter months. The demographics of Lake Erie region grape growers make it difficult to plan educational activities appropriate for this diverse audience. A recent survey conducted as part of a 5-year review of the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program produced 153 responses from grape growers (both extension members and non-members), processors and industry representatives.1 The average acreage of respondents was 57.1 (range 2-400 acres). Barry Shaffer, Farm Business Management Specialist, has determined that a minimum of 60, preferably 100 acres of grapes, is needed to make a full-time family living as a processing juice grower in this region.2 Therefore, growers with 60 acres or less will typically have an off-farm job. Using this criteria, 67% of survey respondents would be considered part time growers. The need to work an off-farm job creates a struggle for these growers to attend traditional educational events such as meetings during the day or evening due to conflicts with their off-farm jobs or the business of growing grapes once they get back from "work". Electronic communication has been shown to provide educational opportunities to a diverse audience, and has no time restrictions of when the information can be accessed. Information can be make accessible at any time for growers, large and small, novices or experienced, and part-time or full-time. The development of a web-based distance learning center for easy access of weather information along with the volumes of commodity and pest related information placed on the web by universities and cooperative extension agencies is a stated need by the Lake Erie grape industry. The New York State Wine and Grape Foundation and the LERGP Processor funding group has provided funding for a half-time position to develop a framework for a distance learning center for this region. The goal of this proposal is to fill in the framework with the information necessary for grape growers to make informed IPM-based decisions in their vineyards. Objectives: The overall objective of this project is to address stated industry needs through the development of a web-based distance learning center. This proposal is proactive in the development of electronic communication, whether using e-mail, or the graphical capability of the web. A prototype distance learning center and the electronic crop update have shown the advantages that electronic communication have over traditional forms of communication and information transfer (i.e. newsletters, twilight meetings and even recorded voice messages). Once the distance learning center has been developed it can be used as a template for other commodities such as onions, potatoes, tomatoes, apples and sweet corn which have IPM strategies developed. 1) Develop a web-based distance learning center integrating existing information on vineyard pest management, grape production systems, vineyard business management and the Food Quality Protection Act. 2) Develop a network of growers and industry personnel across the Lake Erie Grape Belt for exchange of information using the distance learning center and electronic mail. 3) Implement on-line classes to increase learning opportunities for growers, industry personnel, and extension educators to enhance traditional teaching methods. 4) Increase the use of electronic technology over a two-state region through training of growers, processor field representatives, extension personnel and farm suppliers. Problem, Background and Justification Grapes are ranked second in value of production among fruit crops in both New York and Pennsylvania. Approximately 30,000 acres of grapes are grown by 800 growers in the Lake Erie grape growing region of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. Ninety percent of this acreage consists of Native American V. labrusca varieties such as Concord and Niagara which are used for juice, jam, and other fresh and fermented grape products. The combined annual value of Labrusca grapes is over $33 million with yields averaging 5 tons per acre. Public concern over food and environmental safety, whether justified or not, are intensifying and costs of vineyard inputs are increasing. To maintain viability of the industry, growers must adopt economically and environmentally sound integrated pest management practices. The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is a cooperative effort between Cornell University, Pennsylvania State University, and the local extension offices in Chautauqua, Cattaragus, Niagara and Erie Counties in New York and Erie County Pennsylvania. The program has two main focuses: research and extension. Grape research is conducted at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY and the two Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Centers for Research and Extension located in Fredonia, NY and North East, PA. The Lake Erie Regional Grape Extension team is comprised of 3 area extension educators (located in Fredonia, NY) and a Erie County , PA Cooperative Extension Agent housed at the county office in Erie, PA. Each area extension educator specializes in either Integrated Pest Management, Farm Business Management, or Viticulture. The county agent has a strong background in pest management but is responsible for all components of grape growing. The Lake Erie Regional Grape Extension team has the responsibility of providing education to producers of grapes in a two state region. The Lake Erie grape belt runs from the northern most part of Niagara County, NY on Lake Ontario along Lake Erie to the western side of Erie, PA. This large geographical region makes timely information transfer difficult, and personal attention almost impossible. Traditional means of information transfer include: newsletters, recorded voice mail messages, twilight meetings, in-depth short courses, coffee pot meetings, a winter grower conference, telephone conversations, office visits, and, if possible, one-on-one visits with growers. The large geographical area that the extension team covers has created a need to develop new methods to transfer specific, timely, information to the grape industry throughout the growing season and into the winter months. The demographics of Lake Erie region grape growers make it difficult to plan educational activities appropriate for this diverse audience. A recent survey conducted as part of a 5-year review of the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program produced 153 responses from grape growers (both extension members and non-members), processors and industry representatives.1 The average acreage of respondents was 57.1 (range 2-400 acres). Barry Shaffer, Farm Business Management Specialist, has determined that a minimum of 60, preferably 100 acres of grapes, is needed to make a full-time family living as a processing juice grower in this region.2 Therefore, growers with 60 acres or less will typically have an off-farm job. Using this criteria, 67% of survey respondents would be considered part time growers. The need to work an off-farm job creates a struggle for these growers to attend traditional educational events such as meetings during the day or evening due to conflicts with their off-farm jobs or their vineyard operations once they get back from "work". The question, "If an on-line computer system was used by Extension to speed up communications instead of always relying on mail, would you use it on a regular basis?" was asked in the 5-year review survey. The positive responders (40%) tended to be younger with an average age of 47 (Average age of all respondents was 53 with a range of 28 - 84), in the business for fewer years (average years in the grape business for all respondents was 30 with a range of 2-70), and 55% would be considered part-time growers.1 During the 1997 growing season, a computer bulletin board system (BBS) of the Northeast Weather Association was used as an electronic communication center as a part of a project to develop Elements of IPM for Concord grapes. The center was found to be superior to traditional forms of information transfer as to timeliness and amount of information available. While the prototype electronic communication center showed advantages over traditional methods of information dispersal, there is a need to expand the amount of electronically available information. Electronic communication provides the means to educate a diverse audience and has no time restrictions of when the information can be accessed. Information can be made accessible at any time for growers: large and small, novices or experienced, and part-time or full-time. This proposal addresses specific pest management needs developed by growers, consultants, processors, university faculty and staff and extension personnel during a Phase I IPM project meeting (12/95)3, the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program (LERGP) 5-year review process (4/97) 1, a computer use survey conducted at the LERGP Growers Conference (2/98)4. and an evaluation survey for an electronic crop update available to the Lake Erie grape industry during the 1998 growing season. The Phase I IPM Planning meeting provided input primarily from researchers, extension personnel, and consultants and growers with a stake in the grape industry from the Great Lake States; New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio. In the final report, under the title "Specific Suggestions for Improved Implementation" the following needs/goals were stated. * Develop a network of implementation workers. Use electronic communications for rapid, inexpensive, exchange of information. * Foster a grower-to-grower information exchange network * Assess and compile current academic knowledge and delivery systems * Assess and compile current grower knowledge Results of the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program 5-year review process reflected the needs of grape growers and processors from the Lake Erie Region of New York and Pennsylvania. Results relating to this proposal have been compiled from responses to the following two questions; 1. What do you see as the limitations of the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Extension Effort? * Slow reaction time to changing weather & pest conditions * Sometimes information reaches me too late to help with problems * Information presented too infrequently * Not fast enough or close enough communications * Timing of newsletters could be addressed with an on-line system * Inability to obtain information when needed * Staff is spread thin over a large area * Too large an area and too few people to cover it * Travel and Distance within the region 2. What would you suggest to improve the LERGP Extension Team's effort? * Expansion of Bulletin Board System * Make your information available at farm supply dealers via computer perhaps * Going on-line for timely recommendations * Go on-line and build this relationship with producers * Increase frequency of newsletter * Use computers and telephones to communicate more effectively * Very much like to see an on-line computer system. Link weather stations and forecasts to it * I'd like to see more entomology material available without disturbing anyone for it Results of a computer use survey conducted at the 1998 Lake Erie Grape Growers conference indicated that 58% of people responding to the survey owned computers, compared to only 39% who owed a fax machine. Fifty percent of the respondents indicated that they purchased their computers within the past year. Seventy-seven percent of the computers listed in the survey were two years-old or newer. Of those owning computers, 61% had the hardware to efficiently access the world wide web using a graphical interface. In response to these surveys and planning meetings, a new method of information transfer was introduced during the 1998 growing season. An electronic crop update was available either by electronic mail or fax. A total of 77 participants, from New York and Pennsylvania, received the crop update including 44 growers, 11 processor or industry representatives, 5 grape researchers, 5 extension field staff, and 10 persons in administrative positions. The update was distributed 1-3 times per week, the frequency increased as pest pressures increased through the season, and included information on vineyard IPM, viticultural considerations, and vineyard business management. An end of season survey was overwhelmingly positive toward the use of electronic technology for timely information transfer. The survey also showed that users of this information transfer method became multipliers as every survey respondent (of the 20 surveys collected to date) passed information from the crop update along to other people. The survey contained a question which asked; "What could be added to the Crop Update to make it more useful to you?" Responses to this questions indicated the need for pictures of pests at the various stages of growth during the growing season for identification, the ability to gather more information on a particular subject without having to contact someone at the extension office, more specific insect and disease information, and pest management recommendations as they change through the growing season. The survey also asked for volunteers to provide information on current growing conditions and pest populations in their vineyards, or their areas of responsibility, during the 1999 growing season and all responses were positive. This would allow the crop update to reflect growing conditions across the entire Lake Erie grape belt (from Erie County, PA to Niagara County, NY). For the past several years the NYS IPM program, University Departments, and Cooperative Extension in New York and Pennsylvania have been actively placing information on the world wide web which could assist grape growers in maintaining the viability of their industry. However, this information is not easily accessible from a central site and does not allow growers to readily gather the information needed to make pest management decisions quickly during the growing season. The development of a web-based distance learning center for easy access of weather information along with the volumes of commodity and pest related information placed on the web is a stated need by the Lake Erie grape industry. The New York State Wine and Grape Foundation and the LERGP Processor funding group has provided funding for a half-time position to develop a framework for a distance learning center for this region. The goal of this proposal is to fill in the framework with the information necessary for grape growers to make informed IPM-based decisions in their vineyards. Outcomes and Impacts Summary from 2001 IPM Center report Grapes grown in the Lake Erie region of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania are worth over $33 million each year and rank second in production value among fruit crops in the two states. The region's 30,000 acres of Concord and Niagara grapes are used for juice, jam, and other grape products. When growers asked for information that would help them make management decisions quickly during the growing season, IPM specialist Tim Weigle and members of the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program (LERGP) responded by creating a web-based learning center. The center connects with growers scattered across this wide area, providing easy access to weather data and pest information. It furnishes electronic crop updates with tips on IPM, farm business management, and viticulture that enable grape growers to make informed IPM-based decisions in their vineyards. Visitors to the site hail not only from the Lake Erie area but from New England and beyond, and include growers, processors, extension agents, agribusiness, and researchers. The knowledge users gain from the site has made a difference: more than half of survey respondents have improved their pesticide spray programs or scouting practices with the help of online crop updates. By adopting these economically and environmentally sound IPM practices, growers will maintain the viability of the industry and reduce risk to the environment. The grape IPM learning center started in 1999 as part of LERGP's own website, and is now located at lenewa.netsync.net/ public/lergphom.htm.

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