UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, in collaboration with Cornell University, will administer the Northeastern Pest Management Center, an initiative by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to bring together specialists from 12 states and the District of Columbia to develop and deliver alternative and safer pest management strategies.

"Each center will act as a connection between agricultural producers, university researchers, extension specialists and other agricultural professionals," says John Ayers, Penn State professor of plant pathology and center director. Jim VanKirk, facilitator for IPM activities, Cornell University, is center coordinator. "This is a center without walls," says VanKirk. "We hope to involve many kinds of people -- from farmers, government regulators, and homemakers to environmental advocates." VanKirk envisions the center contributing to pest management solutions on farms as well as in community settings, such as schools and parks.

The Northeast Region includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, Rhode Island, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Each center will develop cooperative partnerships among colleges, universities and crop production experts from states within each region. Three other pest management centers are located in other regions of the United States. They are: North Central, coordinated by Michigan State University and the University of Illinois; Western, coordinated by the University of California at Davis; and Southern, coordinated by the University of Florida.

"Each center will establish a pool of shared expertise, reducing the duplication of effort that is commonly seen in pest management projects or problems that cross state boundaries," Ayers says. "By creating a regional model that coordinates expert information, technology and education, we can better serve farmers, other agricultural producers, federal and state agencies and agribusinesses."

Ayers says some of the issues to be addressed by the regional centers will include regulatory restrictions, pesticide resistance and invasive species.

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EDITORS: To contact John Ayers, please call 814-865-7776. To contact Jim VanKirk, please call (315) 255-1183.

Contacts: John Wall jtw3@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax