Pathways to improving IPM: Understanding how the education and attitudes of crop advisors influence human-insect interactions in agriculture

Authors: Cluever, Jeffrey; PRISCHMANN-VOLDSETH, DEIRDRE - North Dakota State University; KLUG, PAGE - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS); Prasifka, Jarrad

Submitted to: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/21/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Integrated pest management, or IPM, is a way to manage pests that uses a combination of strategies to grow crops profitably, while limiting losses from pests and negative effects on the environment. Because pest management can be complicated, many growers use certified crop advisors, or CCA, to help make decisions. While CCA can be a way to help growers improve their use of IPM, little is known about crop advisors’ attitudes on information sources. A survey of CCA showed most were educated and experienced, but also did not know or use some information about IPM when scouting or advising on crop pests. It also appeared that crop advisors may value input from their peers more than scientists who specialize in IPM practices. Because CCA may tend to share ideas with each other, getting new pest management practices to spread may require finding the ‘early adopters’ within a group of crop advisors.

Technical Abstract: Integrated pest management (IPM) is the dominant pest management paradigm in agriculture and adoption of IPM is a policy goal at various levels of government. However, with over 67 definitions, what is considered IPM varies, and some implementations of IPM fail to achieve desired results (e.g., reduced pesticide use). The natural complexity of agriculture and pest management lead growers to rely on professionals, usually Certified Crop Advisors (CCA), to help make management decisions. Though communication with crop advisors is one way to improve IPM, this effort requires an understanding of CCA education, knowledge, and information sources. Previous surveys in North America found most crop advisors were very experienced (>20 years) which may present a concern for the adequate supply of crop advisors in the future, since they will very likely retire in the coming decades. Nearly 95% of CCA earned a bachelor level degree (or higher). Independent crop advisors reported spending about 43% less time communicating with growers than CCA employed by consultancies. Most crop advisors gave appropriate, but incomplete, definitions of IPM and adoption of specific guidelines (i.e., scouting recommendations for red sunflower seed weevil, Smicronyx fulvus) was also low. Some CCAs expressed an opinion that universities (and the federal government) were less valued than other sources of information (i.e., their own CCA network). Collectively, survey responses show room for improvement to IPM though CCA education, but because crop advisors are most likely to be influenced though their network of peers, outreach might be best accomplished through targeting early adopters of IPM practices amongst the CCA population.