EPA Puts Up $1 Million to Fund Sustainable Ag Projects

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Under a new series of grants announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, five projects across the country will explore cutting-edge ways of reducing the use of pesticides on farms.

The grants will study integrated pest management (IPM), natural solutions to controlling insect and other pests on farmlands. IPM methods range from relatively simple practices, like lining irrigation ditches with plants that absorb pesticides and nutrients from agricultural runoff, to more complex procedures that encourage beneficial insects to make habitat on farmland and keep destructive pest populations in check.

Two farm projects and three university programs are receiving funds. The farm projects, both in California, are working on some of the state's most lucrative crops. A project in the Sacramento region is working on ways to reduce water runoff from fruit and nut orchards, particularly almonds, walnuts and peaches. The crops combined cover 324,000 acres in California and generate more than $1 billion in revenue every year.

In central California's wine country near Paso Robles, another project aims to help farmers reduce the need for "high-risk" pesticides in vineyards, as well as helping marketing grapes and wines that are grown using organic and low-impact methods.

At the Universities of Michigan and Florida, two teams earned grants to study IPM methods that could be put to use in crops ranging from blueberries to greenhouse-grown tomatoes.

The final grant goes to the IPM Institute of North America in Madison, Wisc., to implement IPM methods in all K-12 schools in the U.S. in the next seven years.

Full information about IPM is available from the EPA's IPM website.

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