Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Animal Products: dairy

• Animals: bovine

• Ecosystem: Ecosystem

Target Pests

• Target Pests: insects, other

Practices

• Pest Management: biological control, botanical pesticides, chemical control, economic threshold, pesticides, prevention

• Animal Production: animal protection and health, parasite control, rangeland/pasture management

• Production Systems: organic agriculture

• Soil Management: other, soil quality/health

Dairy cattle and milk production is the leading agricultural commodity not only in Vermont and New York State but the Northeast as a whole. A growing number of these farms are organic or grass-fed and pasture their cattle for the grazing season, bringing new challenges for pest management with more cattle on pasture, limited treatment options for organic producers, and the threat of resistance. Flies are the most economically damaging insect pest of grazing cattle in the U.S. The annual impact of horn flies on cattle productivity, for example, is estimated at $2.3 billion. Producers in the Northeast have reported that pest flies cause economic losses on their farms, and recent research indicates that pasture fly management and data on organically approved controls are top priorities for farmers in the region. This project will address these priorities through research and collaboration to identify solutions that are widely relevant. A multistate survey will investigate patterns of pest fly IPM to evaluate the extent and economic cost of conventional and organic control strategies. On-farm research will fill data gaps on the comparative efficacy of conventional and organic control methods, which will increase knowledge and confidence in IPM strategies. A controlled field trial will quantify the impacts of feed-through fly larvicide treatments on beneficial dung insects. Finally, these data will feed into an economic model based on an ecosystem services framework that will improve the cost-benefit analysis of pest fly IPM for grazing dairy producers. The new knowledge gained from this project will benefit the entire region by promoting the development and adoption of pest fly IPM for grazing dairy cattle, a top priority for farmers in the largest agricultural sector of the region.

Objective 1: Investigate the spatial-temporal implementation of pest fly IPM across VT and NY through a multistate survey to identify the extent and economic cost of conventional and organic control strategies. Outcomes: Establish statewide patterns of pesticide and IPM use and diverse perspectives on the costs and benefits of conventional and alternative approaches. Impact: Identifies opportunities for increasing adoption of economically and environmentally sustainable pest fly IPM on grazing dairy farms in the Northeast.

Objective 2: Evaluate the comparative efficacy of organic and conventional pest fly control strategies through on-farm research. Outcomes: Demonstrate the value of IPM for pest fly control by comparing organic and conventional strategies. Impact: Increased knowledge and confidence in pest fly IPM strategies, particularly for organic producers.

Objective 3: Quantify the impacts of conventional fly treatments and feed-through larvicides on beneficial insect decomposers. Outcomes: Evidence of the environmental trade-offs associated with chemical control strategies for pest fly IPM. Impacts: Regional reduction in routine chemical treatment, improved pastureland insect biodiversity and soil health.

Objective 4: Construct an economic analysis using an ecosystem services framework to optimize the economic and environmental trade-offs associated with pest fly IPM. Outcomes: Improved cost-benefit analysis of IPM adoption for grazing dairy producers in the Northeast to facilitate decision making. Impacts: Increased knowledge of the short- and long-term economic and environmental impacts of IPM adoption.

            This proposal addresses gaps in knowledge identified by the project team through research data and discussions with farmers regarding the persistent challenge of pest fly control for grazing dairy producers. It will build knowledge in these areas through a combination of qualitative (survey) and quantitative (on-farm research, controlled field trials) methods and economic modelling to provide data that will promote the development and adoption of IPM for cattle producers in the Northeast. It will fill data gaps on the efficacy of organic biological and botanical controls, and support collaboration between organic and conventional communities to identify practices that are widely relevant. Through the application of an ecosystem services framework, it will cumulate in a cost-benefit analysis that considers impacts associated with the provision of vital ecosystem services alongside direct monetary costs. Results will be published in extension publications, peer-reviewed academic journals, and communicated at two summer pasture walks, two summer field days, and two winter outreach events for the farming, technical, and veterinary communities. Project outcomes will be assessed at these events. Data will be used to leverage future funding for a communication and education program to increase the adoption of the IPM techniques developed in this work.