Contact Us...Southern Region - University of FloridaMichelle Samuel-Foo, Regional Field Coordinator352.392.1978 x 406mfoo@ufl.edu

IR-4 Headquarters - Rutgers UniversityJerry J. Baron, IR-4 Executive Director732.932.9575 x 4605jbaron@aesop.rutgers.edu

Facilitating registration of sustainable pest management technology for specialty crops

and minor uses.

To learn more about IR-4 visit ir4.rutgers.edu.

United States Department of Agriculture

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

How IR-4 Helps Florida

Growers

2/11

Annual National IR-4 FundingDirect SupportUSDA-NIFA (Improved Pest Management*) $12,180,000USDA-ARS $ 4,000,000USDA-FAS (TASC Grant) $ 500,000USDA-APHIS (Invasive Species) $ 172,000Hatch Grant (Multi State Research) $ 481,182 Dept. of Defense/USDA-ARS (Public Health) $ 250,000Industry Grants $ 1,100,000

Over $18 million direct

In-Kind SupportLand Grant Universities and/orState Agriculture Experiment Stations ~$10,000,000Crop Protection Industry ~$ 3,000,000Regulatory Authorities (EPA, CA-DPR) ~$ 4,200,000Agriculture and Ag-Food Canada ~$ 800,000

Indirect contributions at least $18 million

*IR-4 is one of several programs within USDA-NIFA (ImprovedPest Management)

A Proven Program with Proven ResultsSince it has been established, IR-4 research hassupported more than 24,000 food and ornamentalhorticulture use registrations. Also, according to theCenter for Economic Analysis at Michigan StateUniversity, “when considering direct, indirect andinduced effects, the IR-4 Project contributes nearly 7 billion dollars to annual US GDP.”

IR-4 research activities are predominantly fundedthrough annual Congressional Appropriations ($12.18million USDA-NIFA, $4 million USDA-ARS).Conducting this research is becoming more and morecostly due to inflation and the complexity of analyzingnew reduced and lower risk chemistries. It is alsobecoming more challenging and costly for IR-4 to meetEPA data requirements. For IR-4 to maintain its currentlevel of high productivity, funding needs to increase.There is no other program or organization doing thiswork. If IR-4 doesn’t do it, no one else will.

Specialty crop growers believe that without adequatefunding to support IR-4’s research on safe, effective pestmanagement solutions, our domestic harvests are injeopardy… which means more imports and higherprices at the grocery store.

Please Help IR-4 Continue to Assist SpecialtyCrop Growers by:

• letting IR-4 know your pest management needs• participating in IR-4 sponsored research• supporting adequate funding at all levels

(industry, university, and government)

IR-4 Generates Data for...The IR-4 Project is a cooperative effort charged withassisting specialty crop growers in solving pest managementproblems. Specialty crop growers are faced with multiplepest management challenges as they grow Florida's multi-billion dollar harvest of fruits, nuts, and vegetablesalong with a bevy of ornamental horticulture crops. Theunique nature of Florida's intensive specialty cropproduction necessitates the development of important newpest management products. IR-4’s mission is to address theneeds of high value low acreage crop growers that are nototherwise addressed. About 80% of IR-4 research projectsare conducted on reduced-risk chemistries andbiopesticides that fit well into Integrated PestManagement (IPM) systems.

Who Benefits From IR-4 Activities? Florida growers benefit by having effective pestmanagement tools that enable them to produce aplentiful supply of high quality food and ornamentalhorticulture crops. This in turn benefits the generalpublic, food processors and other related industrieswhich are provided with a safe, high quality, economicalsupply of food and horticulture crops.

Working in CooperationIR-4 works in cooperation with the University of Florida,the State Agricultural Experiment Stations, and LandGrant Universities, USDA-National Institute of Food andAgriculture (NIFA), USDA-Agricultural Research Service(ARS), USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), USEPA, and other regulatory agencies, growers andcommodity organizations, and the crop protectionindustry.

How IR-4 Helps GrowersWhen a pest is discovered or new pesticide use isneeded on a specialty crop, growers, extension agentsand researchers are encouraged to submit a projectrequest to IR-4.

Once Needs are Identified• Industry is consulted for project support• Projects are prioritized• Research is conducted

IR-4 Helps Food Crop GrowersFlorida fruit and vegetable growers annually produceabout $3.5 billion worth of crops for US andinternational markets (USDA-NASS 2007 Census ofAgriculture). Healthy crops are critically important tothese growers. IR-4 has responded to over 700 requests from Florida for registration of pestmanagement products on food crops. By developingrequired data, thousands of new product uses havebeen registered that support Florida growers.

About IR-4

“In 2008, Florida citrus growers faced analmost insurmountable challenge, citrus

greening, but with the help of IR-4, UF/IFASand the EPA, products were made available

that helped Florida growers.” —Mike Stuart, President, Florida Fruit and

Vegetable Association

Food Use•Residue data from

research trials are compiled and submitted to the EPA for review and establishment of pesticide tolerances

• The manufacturer adds the use to the label

Ornamental Horticulture• Efficacy and crop safety

data are compiled into research summaries which are sent to manufacturers

• Manufacturers review summaries and incorporate into technical literature and product labels

IR-4 Helps OrnamentalHorticulture Growerswith roses, trees, palms, geraniums,pines, chrysanthemums, cut flowers, gladiolas, shrubs, hydrangeas, hollies,and ornamental grasses.

IR-4 researchers in Florida haveworked with these and other cropsgrown by Florida growers, who produce $2 billion (2007 USDA-NASS Census of Agriculture) in annual ornamental horticulture sales.

The IR-4 Biopesticide and Organic SupportProgram Helps Florida Growers Byproviding resources that promote the use of biopesticidesalong with traditional IPM. The IR-4 Biopesticide andOrganic Support Program was expanded recently toinclude the development of new tools for organicgrowers.

IR-4 Public Health Pesticides Program (PHP)Initiated in 2009, the IR-4 PHP program is a partnershipof USDA-ARS, the USDepartment of Defense and IR-4. It was created to facilitate development and registration of toxicants, repellents and attractants tomanage public health pests such as mosquitoes, ticks,sand flies and to protect military personnel fromarthropod borne diseases.

Helping Florida

Outcome:Healthier crops are produced and crop protection issuesare resolved.