Description of Tennessee Pest Management Information Network
In September 2000, the USDA funded the creation of a nationwide pest management information network established to respond quickly to information needs in both the public and private sectors. Four Regional Pest Management Centers (PMCs) were developed and will help USDA and its partner institutions identify, prioritize, and coordinate a national pest management research, extension, and education program to be implemented on a regional basis. The Centers' most basic function is to develop and maintain a pest management information network that will contribute to environmentally and economically sound pest management decisions. The network serves two major purposes: to facilitate communication among key groups of people, and to provide these groups with broad access to pest management information. Tennessee’s Pest Management Information Network will assist the Southern Region in its efforts to conduct these functions.
Tennessee is assisting the Southern Region Integrated Pest Management Center (SRIPMC) by connecting a diverse array of people who have an interest in pest management policy and implementation throughout the US. These include pest management users (farmers, nurserymen, park and turf managers, building superintendents, pest control operators, homeowners, gardeners, and others), consumer and environmental groups, governmental regulatory agencies, researchers, and educators. Communications channels will be effective only if all parties can consistently access the same reliable information. Research-based information is essential to our ability to make sound pest management decisions in any context, from a backyard garden to national regulatory offices. Tennessee is working with the support of PMCs and USDA, by contributing to building a comprehensive database that eventually will hold all kinds of scientifically tested pest management information. This database will be available on the World Wide Web for use by everyone.
Funding for the national network of Pest Management Centers was authorized by Section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998. As the result of a second competitive process in 2003, four IPM Centers across the United States were again funded in FY 2003, with the Southern Region Center located at the NSF Center for IPM at North Carolina State University.
A History of NAPIAP
Pesticide Fact Sheets from the Nation Pesticide Information Center
Pesticide Use and Sales Data
Special Project 2007
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