The workshop is being offered by the Central Illinois Farm Beginnings and the University of Illinois Extension at the Springfield Extension Office located on the State Fairgrounds

The workshop called VegScout School – Integrated Pest Management and Scouting Program will be held on Saturday, June 7th from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This intensive one-day workshop will introduce Integrated Pest Management, and alternative and organic pest control methods, provide hands-on vegetable pest (insect, weed, and disease) identification, and discuss scouting tools and techniques, pesticide safety, and worker protection standards. As part of the course participants will receive a set of references to assist them with vegetable crop pest diagnosis, as well as hands-on training in insect, weed, disease, and other problem identification.

Participation in the course involves a two-fold commitment from participants. The easiest commitment is the $35.00 registration fee. This covers the cost of the reference materials and lunch. The more difficult commitment is time. There is still time and room to register. The registration deadline for this workshop is May 31.

The benefits of the course are many. First, participants improve their ability to correctly identify pests. Second, participants receive a good set of references to assist them in identification and evaluation of pest problems. Third, participants become acquainted with the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), mainly the importance of proper identification, the use of economic thresholds to evaluate a situation, and of alternative/organic control techniques. Fourth, participants have an opportunity to learn new skills in a supervised setting, thus increasing their confidence of these skills. Fifth, growers can review their crop troubleshooting skills on basic cultural practices, and identification of problems that are not caused by pests, which may help avoid unneeded and costly treatments.

Course instructor, Dr. Loretta Ortiz-Ribbing, Crop Systems Extension Specialist for the University of Illinois Extension, offered this comment on the program, “Scouting programs and training to identify pests have been available for many years for agronomic crops. This program offers a similar opportunity for commercial and organic vegetable growers.” Please contact Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant at               217-968-5512        or cvnghgrn@uiuc.edu for more information and to register.