Meeting the Needs of Twenty-First Century Agriculture: A Dialogue on the Application and Future of IPM

U. S. farmers face an increasingly complex world in which they are being called to produce abundant, safe, and affordable food and fiber while at the same time helping to meet some of the most important challenges facing the nation and planet. From improving water quality in the nation’s lakes and streams or protecting biodiversity and pollinators to contributing to climate mitigation by sequestering carbon in crop fields, farmers are adopting practices that provide significant benefits well beyond the borders of their farms. A critical factor in all those efforts is the successful management of a vast array of pests – weeds, diseases, insects, new and invasive pests – through the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Over the past 60 years, IPM has become a central component of economically and environmentally sound agriculture, improving crops and yields, reducing risks to humans and the environment, addressing pesticide resistance, and increasing the use of biological controls and new technologies. IPM has untapped relevance to climate smart agriculture, precision farming, crop insurance, ecosystem services, grower incentivization, regenerative and sustainable agriculture. However, there are substantial gaps in the support and research for the development, implementation, market valuation, and validation of IPM for those greater benefits to be fully realized.

Capitalizing on the benefits of IPM across new and diverse challenges can most effectively be accomplished by engaging a wide range of expertise to identify and synthesize the key needs for and values of IPM systems, identify knowledge and resource gaps, and determine the most effective ways to further research, development, and use of IPM. The key role IPM plays in sustainable farming systems offers a rich and important opportunity to identify the best approaches for supporting, implementing, and integrating IPM to meet the challenges facing agriculture and the environment. We are convening a Framing Committee to guide development of a robust Dialogue to provide a critical forum for in-depth stakeholder discussion; to document and disseminate Dialogue insights and results; and identify and catalyze steps for expanding the usefulness and implementation of IPM.