A panel of Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) Work Group participants will be featured at Ag Council’s 104th Annual Meeting during the General Session on March 30, 2023.
Ag Council believes this conversation is critical for our members at this time given the State of California is moving forward with goals to reduce or eliminate certain Priority Pesticides (yet to be defined) by the year 2050.
Each panelist joining us at the Annual Meeting served as a member of the SPM Work Group or as a state advisor in the development of the document, Accelerating Sustainable Pest Management: A Roadmap for California.
The Roadmap calls on the state to create a plan, funding mechanisms and programs to focus on the transition away from high-risk pesticides. In addition, it calls for the acceleration and adoption of alternatives at the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). Recommendations for both agricultural and urban actions were also developed by the SPM Work Group.
Ag Council looks forward to hosting the following SPM experts on the panel for an in-depth discussion about the Roadmap and next steps:
- Dr. Karen Morrison is DPR’s Chief Deputy Director and Science Advisor.
- Dr. Cliff Ohmart is a Pest Control Advisor and with experience as an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) consultant specializing in orchard crops in the Sacramento Valley Region.
- Dr. Chris Geiger recently managed the IPM program at the San Francisco Department of the Environment.
- Undersecretary Christine Birdsong with the California Department of Food and Agriculture will moderate the panel.
Ag Council’s overview of the SPM Roadmap recommendations is available HERE. DPR’s executive summary is HERE.
To read about the Annual Meeting, or to register click HERE.