Apr 4, 2011

New York saves IPM program – again

A few weeks ago, the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program was scheduled to lose all of its state funding and shut down entirely on March 31.

But instead of killing the program that day, the state government gave it more money than it’s had in a couple of years.

For fiscal year 2011-12, the state IPM program got $700,000 in state funds, $500,000 for its agricultural activities and $200,000 for its community activities. The first allocation matched what the ag branch received the previous year, but the second allocation far surpassed what the community branch has gotten from the state in the previous couple of years – which is nothing, said Jennifer Grant, the program’s assistant director.

“We’re quite happy,” she said.

The IPM program’s director, Donald Rutz, said stakeholders have been talking with state legislators in the last few weeks, letting them know how important the program’s insect-control activities are to New York’s farms, schools and other facilities.

Last year, the program received about a third of its normal state allocation and had to lay off five people and reduce the hours of five others to close the gap. It also had to shrink or eliminate some of its activities, Rutz said.