Submitted to: Michigan State University Extension
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: January 31, 2000
Publication Date: N/A
Technical Abstract:
Since pest management is farm specific, we introduce the concepts of field crop pest ecology and management by describing three Michigan farms and their pest management approaches. The three farmers highlighted are excellent managers who pay close attention to the ecological processes occurring on their farms, they tend to have diverse crop rotations, and they use at least some cover crops. Two of the farmers manage 1,250 acres and one manages about 300 acres. The two larger farmers use integrated pest management techniques extensively. The smaller farm is certified organic, so his pest management strategies do not include synthetic pesticides. The farms represent three different and important Michigan agricultural regions: the Saginaw Valley sugar beet and dry bean producing region, noted for fine-textured soils; the southwest seed corn production region, noted for sandy soils; and the southeast region with perhaps the state's most productive, loamy soils.
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