There's More to Farming than Organic versus Conventional: A Look at Integrated Pest Management

           While it is becoming easier to secure food from local sources due to the recent surge in Farmer’s Markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares throughout the U.S., many of us are still in the dark when it comes to how our food is produced. Tackling the question of where was half the battle. Yet knowing where our food was raised does not ensure it was done so sustainably and ethically. Jargon filled resources that discuss organic, pesticides, biodynamic, etc. turns what already feels like a scramble to find quality foods into a question of public and environmental health. What do these words mean and how does that reflect how my food was produced? Many of my own acquaintances often ask me whether or not they should care about if a product is organic or not. I think most are mislead by the notion that all organic farms simply plant seeds, water them, and harvest the crops, without any interjections, synthetic or not.

 Although this idea is romantic, there is much more to farming methods than whether or not they simply use pesticides. Though many of us would prefer to consume produce grown without the use of any additives, this isn’t always possible due to varying environmental conditions. Most consumers cringe at the word “pesticide,” and rightfully so given the fearful seeds planted by mainstream media. However, just because your food is not grown “o’ natural” doesn’t mean it received a daily dousing of the deadly pesticides we see sweeping across fields in Food, Inc. In fact, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is one farming method that is either commonly misconceived or a mystery altogether.

Before I proceed, I’d like to state that I am not advocating for the use of pesticides. I am happy to see the rising interest in sustainable food among the general public. However, I hate to see people shy away from local produce just because it is not organic. Indeed, the negative effects of pesticides are well studied and have been linked to the following: negative neurological and hormonal effects among humans; the evolution of pesticide-resistant pests; and the pollution of ground water. However there are other issues essential to deciding what food to purchase that do not revolve around pesticides, such as miles travelled before consumption, preservation techniques, nutritional value, and effects on the local economy. We have to look at the big picture when asking ourselves which is more sustainable: an organic fruit grown in Mexico and shipped to New York or a local fruit grown using IPM from within 20 miles? Proper knowledge of farming methods is essential to the ultimate understanding of food and should contribute to one’s shopping decisions. IPM is one such method that merits an explanation.

            Let’s break it down. What are the definitions of integrated, pest, and management? Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension explains that integrated indicates that many strategies from different disciplines are used to avoid or solve a pest problem. A pest is an unwanted organism that causes damage to animals, plants, and humans, while management is the process of deciding how to keep pests from reaching harmful levels. IPM therefore is a preventative approach that utilizes information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment to make informed decisions about how to plant and treat crops. IPM is an environmentally sensitive farming approach that encompasses several methods utilizing information on pests and climate to grow in a way that is economically efficient and reduces our dependency on pesticides and damage to the environment. Basically what this means is that farmers will take measures to evaluate the presence of pests, prevent their damage, and assess their effects before deciding how they will treat a crop, leaving chemical pesticide treatment as a least resort.

            IPM begins with preventing pests from invading to begin with. Like many other methods of farming, the first step in pest prevention involves manual cultural processes. Plowing, rotating crops, removing infected plant material, sanitizing equipment, and managing compost and manure effectively may seem like common sense, but they are essential to pest prevention. Farmers also use numerous structural barriers that protect the soil from elements such as wood that are favorable to moisture and pests that could easily penetrate the soil through direct contact.  They also use greenhouses and netting.

            While it may appear that farming is all about physical labor and reserved for those green thumbed, strong backed individuals who can tough the mud, it actually requires a great deal of scientific knowledge. IPM farmers must be knowledgable about entire ecosystems, ensuring that there is proper balance and mimicking natural cycles. One such method is the use of biological controls to prevent pests, such as biological control agents, or natural enemies of pests that can be introduced to a crops’ environment to attack pests upon detection. Farmers will introduce these species, which function as the antibodies or immune response to pests. Furthermore, just as we aware that our immune system reacts unfavorably when we sit in the rain on a cold day, famers use similar logic when choosing what plants are appropriate for each environment. They chose pest-resistant varieties that are less susceptible than other varieties to certain insects and diseases. Though it does not completely eliminate the need for pesticides, it lowers the likelihood.

            Such methods obviously require a great deal of planning, knowledge of the climate and environment, and monitoring. IPM farmers, like other farmers, work long hours to ensure their crops are sufficiently monitored. They check the area for pests, identify them if present, and evaluate the effectiveness of biological control agents. Once a pest is properly detected and identified, IPM farmers then evaluate the threshold, or tolerance level, of the infected crops.  If the number of pests is above the plant’s threshold, the damage done to the crops is sufficient enough to cause economic loss.  Essentially, the farmer must detect to what extent the pests have damaged the crops, how that affects their income, and whether or not the situation is severe enough to use pesticides.  If the pests have done enough damage, farmers must find a fast solution, but they aren’t spraying just yet! Their last option before spraying is harvesting early, which depends on the maturity and cost-benefit analysis of the crops. When nothing else can be done, chemical pesticides are used to bring the pest population under threshold and back under control. Most IPM farmers will use low-risk pesticides that are less harmful for consumers and the environment.

Although at one point I too hesitated upon buying anything that is not organic, after learning about the intricate process involved in alternative farming methods that ensure low levels of pesticides, I am less close-minded. I am also realizing that organic farming does not necessarily ensure the absence of all synthetic chemicals, but that's a topic for a whole other article. I think part of the reason why most consumers don’t know about IPM is that unlike organic farming that has an identity in the marketplace, IPM doesn’t yet have a niche. Organic farming even has a sticker and strict certification process. IPM, however, still doesn’t have its own certification process that is recognized by the US Department of Agriculture. This may be due to the complex control process used in IPM, which makes it hard to monitor across varying environments and farms since they are not limited to one strict set of practices. Every IPM process is personalized to the pests, crops, and climate of each individual farm.

Overall, I hope more consumers will realize that there are many more options available when deciding what kinds of produce to purchase. Although produce grown by IPM is nearly unidentifiable at mainstream grocery stores, vendors at farmers markets will surely be informed. It gives us one more reason to shop locally and meet our farmers. Ideally more consumers will be more understanding of IPM farmers, especially on fruit farms like apple orchards whose old trees cannot support crop rotation and other pest-preventative measures. Ask your farmer and you will see how many of those non-organics are also non-pesticide-dousing farmers who actually recognize the need to decrease our dependency on chemical pesticides.