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2013 Highlights: UC IPM Annual ReportUpdate from the Western IPM Center
In 2013, the Western IPM Center was awarded a new four-year grant from the USDA and underwent significant changes, including a complete personnel turnover, changes to its Signature Programs and grants, and expanded outreach efforts. Director Jim Farrar joined the Center in January and spent 2013 on the road, building connections with Western commodity organizations, researchers, and IPM stakeholders. Steve Elliott was hired as Center writer in January, and expanded the Center?s communication efforts through increased e-mail outreach; redesigned newsletters, Web site, and annual report; a new blog and Twitter feed; and stories published in the agricultural press. The Center funded 14 new grant projects and three Signature Programs focused on invasive species, crop pest loss assessments, and weather-based decision-support tools. It also simplified its grant categories for 2014, receiving 39 proposals in the new categories of project initiation grants, work group grants, outreach and implementation grants, and IPM planning document grants. For more information, see the Western IPM Center?s Web site. |
