Western Small Farm IPM Working Group
The US small-farm sector is extremely diverse, not only in terms of production systems, but also in relation to the demographics and background of the growers. Many small-scale farmers do not come from 'traditional' farming backgrounds, and may be unfamiliar with the concept of IPM and its implementation. Many small-scale growers also have a significant time commitment to off-farm employment, and this can be a further barrier to adopting IPM.
The Western Small Farm IPM Working Group was formed with funding from USDA-NIFA to address the IPM-related needs of the small-farm sector in member states. We are developing pilot projects in diverse small-scale production systems that will ultimately be used to help develop best practice guidelines for implementing IPM on small-scale farms elsewhere.