The content of this course is tailored to the needs of farmers, NRCS, SWCD, Cooperative Extension, and state department of agriculture employees, as well as crop consultants, natural resource specialists, and non-governmental conservation organization staff.
Registration is $45 per person. Course registration includes the Xerces Society's Pollinator Conservation Toolkit and a copy of Farming With Native Beneficial Insects.
Please plan to bring a sack lunch and a refillable water bottle!
Canceled registrations can be refunded until June 1st, 2016.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM CST
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Jillian Vento
The Xerces Society
503-232-6639
pollinators@xerces.org
The Xerces Society provides reasonable accommodations for special events with adequate notice. To request accommodation for events, please contact pollinators@xerces.org by Monday, May 30th, 2016.
The USDA and the Xerces Society are equal-opportunity providers and employers.
This Short Course is made possible with the support of the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Additional support for this training is provided by the Audrey and J.J. Martindale Foundation, Cascadian Farm, Ceres Trust, CS Fund, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, General Mills, the Irwin Andrew Porter Foundation, Turner Foundation, Inc., Whole Foods Market and its vendors, Whole Systems Foundation, and Xerces Society members.
Special thanks to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for providing the venue for this event.
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. The Society's Pollinator Conservation Program was launched in 1996, and works with leading native pollinator ecologists to translate the latest research findings into on-the-ground conservation. More information about the Xerces Society is available at www.xerces.org.
Header: Syrphid fly, by Adam Varenhorst. Sidebar: field observation of pollinators and plants, Anne Averille, University of Massachusetts.
Conservation Biological Control
Short Course
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
W109 Turner Hall
Urbana, IL
Tuesday, June 14th, 2016
9:00 am - 4:00 pm CST
Learn a science-based strategy that seeks to integrate beneficial insects for natural pest control!
Beneficial insects contribute to natural pest suppression and potentially save $4.5 billion annually in pesticide costs. Yet the contribution of insects that prey upon or parasitize crop pests is largely overlooked. Conservation biological control is a science-based pest management strategy that seeks to integrate beneficial insects back into cropping systems for natural pest control, ultimately reducing and in some cases eliminating the need for insecticides. This strategy is based upon ongoing research that continues to demonstrate a link between the conservation of natural habitat and reduced pest problems on farms, orchards, and gardens.
In response to growing interest in promoting beneficial insects for their pest control services on farms, the Xerces Society has authored the book Farming With Native Beneficial Insects and developed the Conservation Biological Control Short Course to educate farmers, agriculture employees, natural resource specialists, land managers, and conservation organization staff.
SHORT COURSE TRAINING SKILLS AND OBJECTIVES
This workshop will cover:
Participants will receive the Xerces Society's Conservation Biological Control Toolkit which includes habitat installation guidelines and other relevant publications, and the Xerces' book, Farming with Native Beneficial Insects.
*Continuing Education Credits Available*
COURSE AGENDA
Welcome and Announcements
Module 1 - Farming with Beneficial Insects: Conservation Biological Control (CBC)
Module 2 - Common Beneficial Insect Groups
Break
Module 3 - Designing and Restoring Habitat for Beneficial Insects
Lunch - Please bring a sack lunch!
Guest Speaker–Shannon Allen, Initiatives Coordinator with the NRCS
Module 4 - Farm Practices for Beneficial Insects
Break
Module 5 - Assessing Baseline Farm Conditions for Beneficial Insects
Field Activity - Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery
Small groups rotate through the following activities:
Module 6 – Q&A, additional resources, and course evaluations
INSTRUCTORS
Thelma Heidel Baker – IPM Specialist, Xerces Society
Thelma Heidel-Baker is the IPM Specialist for the Xerces Society. She has extensive experience working on biological control and IPM in agricultural cropping systems. Based out of eastern Wisconsin, Thelma provides support to farmers, agencies, and Xerces staff for developing pest management programs with reduced risks to beneficial insects. She also develops technical materials used by farmers, crop consultants, and university extension to recommend best management practices for conserving beneficial insects in pest management. Thelma received her Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Minnesota where she conducted research on improving IPM of the soybean aphid.
GUEST SPEAKER
Shannon Allen - Shannon started his career with the Illinois Soil and Water Conservation District’s after receiving his B.S. degree in Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point in 1990. He then worked for 20 years with the Soil and Water Conservation District’s as a Resource Analyst, Resource Conservationist and a Watershed Specialist, in McHenry, Christian and Macon counties respectively. In these positions he wrote many conservation plans to include wildlife habitat, native prairie grasses and wetlands. For the past six years he has worked for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). First as a Soil Conservationist in Shelby county, then as a District Conservationist in DeWitt county and is currently the Initiatives Coordinator located at the State office, in Champaign, Illinois.