Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
readily agreed to it because they had invested their time and treasure in
the creation of the commission, and saw IPM as a way to better manage
their inputs and add value to their crop. Since its inception, the commis-
sion itself (with monies from growers and agencies) has funded nineteen
region-specific research projects with more than $600,000. These
include: biological control of insect pests; the relationship between cover
crops, nutrient management and IPM; varietal and trellis research; and
irrigation management.
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Cliff Ohmart describes the commission's efforts in four stages: grower
IPM outreach (1992-1995), the BIFS grant (1996-1998), area-wide
implementation of the
Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrowers Workbook
(1998-2003), and the Lodi Rules for Winegrowing (2003+).
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Each stage
added another degree of sophistication to their network of relationships,
another layer of knowledge shared about how to integrate “sustainabil-
ity,” agroecological practices, and improved product value. Initially the
commission and Ohmart circulated knowledge between nature (the vine-
yard), scientific colleagues, clients (growers), and scientific content, but
once they began to use the workbook and think more seriously about
using their practices to help market their products, they expanded into
the “public representation” loop, more so than other partnerships.
The first stage was conceived as an effort to familiarize growers and
their PCAs with IPM techniques, using a variety of field days and printed
educational materials. UC IPM Director Frank Zalom successfully
obtained a $150,000 Kellogg Foundation grant to support this stage. It
sought to fulfill the original vision of IPM developed by UC Berkeley
scientists in the 1950s, with specific goals to reduce reliance on synthetic
chemicals, develop a district-wide IPM program, and encourage IPM
techniques. They achieved these goals by publicizing local agroecological
knowledge at breakfast meetings and field days.
The second stage began when the commission secured one of the first
two BIFS grants from SAREP in 1995, and hired Ohmart to run it.
Ohmart implemented the BIFS program guided by his experience educat-
ing growers as an independent PCA and his observation of BIOS's
grower-to-grower outreach model. He worked with 43 growers to desig-
nate 60 vineyard blocks covering 2370 acres for intensive monitoring
and evaluating alternative management strategies, and to facilitate them
sharing what they learned with all 700 growers in the region. Ohmart's
