Completed Project Report


Mitigating risk with systems-based pest management for Tennessee nursery owners, producers, and Hispanic work force

  • Award Amount: $38,971
  • Regional Center: Southern Extension Risk Management Education Center
  • Grant Program: 2013 Competitive Grant Program
  • Project Director: Amy Fulcher
  • Email: afulcher@utk.edu
  • Organization: University of Tennessee

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Project Overview


New pests are a serious risk to Tennessee nursery profitability.  For example, over 50% of Tennessee growers surveyed stated that boxwood blight now threatens their business. Regulatory agencies determined that systems-based pest management reduces plant mortality and allows more flexible shipping, reducing
losses/costs.  Systems-based pest management is being incorporated into national and international commerce
regulations.  However, changing operational procedures to include a systems-based approach to pest management affects every aspect of production, exposing growers to considerable risk while they adjust practices.  Growers/employees need training to successfully mitigate the risk associated with transitioning to a new production system that utilizes systems-based pest management.  Project co-PIs and collaborators organized a workshop and conducted one on one visits with workshop participants following the workshop; created a checklist and a 48 page manual (both documents in English and in Spanish); and created 5 You Tube videos on Critical Control Points.  Participants learned how to successfully implement a systems-based approach to field and container nursery pest management and reduced financial losses from adopting key steps in systems-based pest management.  

Number of Participants: 56

Outcomes

Project Steps

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

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EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

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REPORTS & EVALUATIONS

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DELIVERY AREA

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