The Minnesota Department of Agriculture Friday confirmed the brown marmorated stink bug has been found in Duluth. It’s the first time the invasive pest has been found in St. Louis County.

A student at the University of Minnesota Duluth discovered the stink bug in the university’s insect collection. Entomologists at the university and the state agriculture department confirmed it was a stink bug. The bug originally was collected in January 2011 inside a Duluth home.

The stink bug is native to Asia and has rapidly spread across the U.S. since it was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2001.

The bug feeds on a variety of plants including fruit trees, vegetables and soybeans. When disturbed, the bug releases a foul-smelling odor.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Invasive pests cost the United States an estimated $130 billion in damage and preventative measures every year, and information is the best defense.

The Arkansas Forest Resources Center has just launched a website, www.ARInvasives.org, dedicated to managing these destructive pests of our forests.

Examples of destructive invasives already in Arkansas include the red imported fire ant, kudzu and gypsy moths.

“We have two primary goals with this web site,” said Jon Barry, an Extension forester for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. “First, we want to make people more aware of the problems caused by invasive pests. That $130 billion a year estimate is growing as old pests spread and new pests arrive.”

Managing these pests starts with being able to identify the pests, know the damage they can do, and what can be done to halt their spread.

“If invasive pests bug you, use this website as a resource to learn more about them,” Barry said.

The second goal for the website “is to recruit and train qualified people who can serve as an early warning system for invasive pests in Arkansas. If you work in the fields and forests of Arkansas and would like to serve as a field spotter, please watch this web site for announcements about training opportunities. Arkansas needs you.”

The site launched Oct. 1.

“ARInvasives.org is focused on six forest invasive pests that may threaten Arkansas in the future, but also includes information about invasive pests already in Arkansas,” Barry said. “We will be continually updating the web site and adding new information and new invasive pests, so drop by often and see what is new.”

For more information about the Arkansas Forest Resources Center, visit http://www.afrc.uamont.edu/ or contact your county Extension office.

Check this out! And share it with your friends.

In 3 languages (English, Spanish and Creole) thanks to collaboration between The University of Florida Extension and Everglades Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area. Check their website: ECISMA

Tienes una lagartija invadiendo tu cultivo o vivero en el condado de Miami Dade?

Informate aqui en 3 idiomas gracias a un esfuerzo por la Universidad de Florida Extension y la Cooperación de los Everglades en el manejo de especies invasoras.

Click here for each language:

English/ Ingles

Spanish/ Español

Creole/Haitiano

Until next post.

Your UF Extension agent!

Vanessa Campoverde

“Heavy infestations seem to be associated with fields with wooded borders, especially if there are concentrations of the invasive weed Tree of Heaven,” Herbert said. “Both are native to China and the (stink bug) seems to be strongly attracted to that host, especially when the trees are putting out their seed clusters. It’s like a happy reunion.”

The highest concentrations of the stink bugs have been found where the invasive plant is also found in high numbers, Herbert noted.

The article does not offer the best advice for getting rid of ailanthus, but it makes an additional case to do so.

If you google “ailanthus eradication”, this blog is ranked #1.  That, and “multiflora rose eradication” are the two biggest reasons people find this blog on their own (over 20,000 hits so far).  So over the next few months I will try to increase the information available on this blog about eradicating these invasive exotics.  VA Tech and Penn State have both done some research on using Verticillium wilt as a natural control of ailanthus, with the main disadvantage being that it also kills mimosa trees.  I will try to post more on that soon.

You’ve already seen plenty of blog posts and news stories about the importance of preventing invasive weeds from spreading to places where they won’t be welcome. You can help just as much in the fight against invasive insects like the Asian longhorned beetle, redbay ambrosia beetle, emerald ash borer and hemlock woolly adelgid.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has proclaimed August as “Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month.”

The bumper stickers that proclaim “Don’t Move Firewood” include one example of how you can help. If you’re camping, hiking, hunting or fishing, gather or purchase firewood close to your campsite rather than bringing it with you from home. When you’re ready to go home, leave any firewood that you’ve purchased at the site. Doing so may seem like a waste of money, but it will save millions of dollars in costly treatments as a result of an insect transported in some leftover firewood. In fact, in Florida, the redbay ambrosia beetle skipped from north Florida to southern Florida because someone brought home a log he had found on the side of the road.

Avid gardeners often like to purchase plants that they find overseas or in another state. Before you bring that plant home and plant it, inspect it for dead leaves or any odd characteristics, such as holes in the leaves or stems; white, fuzzy spots along the stem; or dying leaves.

APHIS has a list of specific actions you can take against spreading invasive pests in the factsheet “Attack of the Invasive Species.” you can also visit www.HungryPests.com to learn more about invasive pests. If you’re on Twitter, you can follow the APHIS Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/#!/usda_aphis.

“Preventing foreign pests and diseases from entering the United States and looking for those that are here already are critical functions of APHIS,” said Gregory Parham, APHIS administrator.  “Invasive pests and diseases can impact our communities and the natural landscape, jeopardize the livelihood of our farmers, ranchers and foresters, and alter our ecosystems.  During the month of August, we will share information and tools so that everyone can learn more about these threats and help us take action in the fight against invasive pests.”

Using Twitter, USDA Blog posts and individual interactions, APHIS will provide information that the public can use to actively participate in the effort to curtail invasive pests and diseases of plants, such as Asian citrus psyllid, European grapevine moth, Mediterranean fruit fly and sudden oak death.

Concerned citizens can find a list of specific actions they can take to protect our nation’s agricultural and ecological health in the APHIS factsheet “Attack of the Invasive Species” at www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/plant_health/content/
printable_version/attack_of_the_invasive_species.pdf.  You can also visit www.HungryPests.com to learn more about invasive pests.   Concerned residents can also gain useful tips and information by following the APHIS Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/#!/usda_aphis.

Invasive species can cause harm to the economy, the environment and human health. From Americans returning from foreign travel, to arriving cargo on ships, there is always the potential for dangerous plant pests and microorganisms to enter the country.  Many of these pests and diseases have already seriously harmed U.S. industry and urban and rural landscapes.  Some scientists estimate that the economic impacts from invasive species exceed $1 billion annually in the United States, in addition to the damage they cause to hundreds of millions of acres of native ecosystems.

Invasive pests grow and spread rapidly.  They disrupt the areas they invade by pushing out native species, reducing biological diversity, killing forest trees, placing other species at increased risk of extinction, altering wildfire intensity and frequency, damaging crops, closing foreign markets to U.S. products from infested areas and costing industry and governments millions of dollars in treatments and other response and control efforts.  These invaders could ruin your favorite outdoor activity or, depending on how you earn it, your livelihood.

APHIS safeguards U.S. agricultural and natural resources from risks associated with the entry, establishment or spread of agricultural pests and diseases, as well as invasive and harmful weeds.  In this battle, APHIS works very closely with its many partners at the federal, state, county and local levels, and at universities and nongovernmental organizations.  Through its many safeguarding activities overseas, on the border and across the country, APHIS helps to ensure a diverse natural ecosystem and an abundant and healthy food supply for all Americans.

But APHIS can’t do it alone.  Individual citizens play a vital role protecting U.S. agriculture and the environment from invasive pests.

The MDA says the wasps don’t sting and won’t harm people or the environment. The pest control strategy, known as biocontrol, pairs an invasive pest with its natural enemies.

Biocontrol program coordinator Monika Chandler says the ash borer is native to Asia and doesn’t have a lot of natural enemies in the U.S. to keep its numbers in check.

Minnesota has confirmed infestations of the pest in Hennepin, Ramsey and Houston counties. The same wasps were released in Houston County last fall. The Twin Cities sites include Langford Park in St. Paul, as well as Tower Hill Park, sites along the East and West River Parkway in Minneapolis.

The emerald ash borer has killed millions of ash trees in 15 states. Its larvae kill ash trees by tunneling into the wood and disrupting the flow of nutrients.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Dozens of citizens already have joined the effort. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture says these “first detectors” form part of the state’s early warning system for invasive tree pests, making it more likely infestations will be found early when they’re easiest to control.

Experts will offer six workshops statewide this month and next to teach tree care workers, community foresters and others the basics of how to tell destructive pests from harmless bugs.

MDA Plant Protection Director Geir Friisoe says many new infestations have been discovered by informed citizens who know what to look for and who to call when they find something.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

“The Asian hornet, Vespa velutina, is strongly established in France, where it is thought to have arrived from the Far East in a consignment of Chinese plant pots in late 2004, and beekeepers and entomologists are concerned that it may now spread across the Channel, especially as climate change brings warmer summers.

—

Groups from five to 50 Asian hornets hover in front of a beehive, picking off single honeybees, decapitating them and stripping off their wings and legs before making off with the “meat ball” to their nest to feed their young.

As the attacks continue, the honeybee colony stops flying and has to consume its own stores, a development which eventually weakens it to such a point that a hornet invasion force can enter the hive and pillage it completely. Whole hives can be destroyed in this way relatively rapidly.”

Note

I’ve never seen this behavior, but  it seems to be very  terror-inspiring  wasp, but any time I have tried to photograph it, it immediately flies.  I’ve never seen or encountered it in pack, but only as solitary  hunter that scouts  about flowering  plants for small honeybees or attacking emerging dormant  solitary bees, but this behavior might  change as there is population increase.

When I have  attempted to  photograph the wasp after a catch,  it is easily startled and  disappears, often abandoning the catch.

Yes, I proudly admit that I’m a tree hugger.  And, the harder it is to wrap my arms around a tree the better I like it.  I realize change is a constant, but somethings are moving so rapidly that this hand grenade of a heart of mine …sometimes feels like exploding.

You may not remember the chestnut trees, but I do. Once they were the dominant tree of the eastern forests.  They had really wonderful leaves and their nuts provided food for all kinds of animals.  Now they are all gone.   Today’s trees at the Falls of the Ohio are a little removed from what was first recorded here.  Now, we feel somewhat secure in the knowledge that what we have is what we have.  It’s always going to be there for us…but big changes are walking the land.

I’m out here by the river all the time.  It’s around the edges, the interstitial zones, where changes can be seen most noticeably.  The weather and climate of the last two years have been especially hard on our trees.  Paradoxically, we have had spells where we had too much rain at one time, and then not enough.  Those gentle rain showers also seem to becoming a thing of the past.  Today’s storms are more fierce with energy.

Last year’s wind storm from Hurricane Ike was an eye-opener!  With gusts clocked at over 70 plus miles per hour, the wind clothes-lined our trees.  Some snapped in half at mid-trunk.  Others fell over exposing their root masses when their leaves and canopies provided too much resistance.  The ice storm that followed in winter didn’t help matters any.  Already it’s considered the worst natural disaster to hit Kentucky in modern times.

Why are we in such a big hurry to go nowhere?  Is it we just can’t help ourselves?  Already we are introducing exotic pests and diseases that are destroying our indigenous heritage.  Ever heard of “bacterial leaf scorch” or the Emerald Ash Borer?  Succession will occur sooner than later because our trees are already in a weakened condition.  Every time the water gets high, the Ohio River deposits its washed away trees here.

At the Falls…I can see the maple trees waiting in the wings along with trees introduced from other countries.  I don’t know what we can do about all that’s already put into play.  Perhaps we can try living more simply and do our part to reduce the causes of climate change?  When we travel, be vigilant about unseen invasive pest hitchhikers.  For now, I’m going to say goodbye to an old friend.  I’ve enjoyed the shade of this cottonwood tree for many years.  Treasure the big trees and keep them growing!

The report was also presented to a CSIRO sponsored conference on camels held in Canberra on Wednesday. Over 70 camel experts attended including scientists, farmers and even the owner of the country’s only camel specific abattoir (Territory Camel, situated just outside Alice Springs).

In brief the report outlines:

• That Australia’s feral camel population is now estimated at over one million, set to double by 2017.
• Camel’s do $15 million worth of damage to infrastructure and farming land annually beyond serious damage to ecosystems.
• That wetlands in the NT are serious under threat because large herds are drinking too much water from the waterholes crucial to a wide variety of other native flora and fauna.
• That as climate change intensifies and water dries up  camels are likely to expand to new areas in Australia, including farming land. 

The report recommends among other things:

• The humane aerial culling be expanded.
• The a camel ”market” by supported and associated industries including the camel meat industry be expanded.
• That numbers be decreased by 400 000 in the next ten years.

I wrote a short, if not light, article for The Age which was printed on Wednesday here. However, I strongly recommend the report to get across the entire problem which appears to have intensified in the last decade. 

Camels at NT watering hole PHOTO: R. Bugg

THE WORLD Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is warning Australian revival programs for endangered species are seriously underfunded and a backlog of hundreds of plants and animals are still waiting to be reviewed for endangered status.

WWF Manager of  Threatened Species Katherine Miller, said she was disappointed with the growing number of species stalled on the review list and urged Environment Minister Peter Garrett to better fund the Threatened Species Scientific Committee which process the reviews.

Ms Miller added the bigger problem is a lack of species specific funding in the $2.5 billion Caring For Our Country plan announced by Minister Garrett last month.

The Caring For Our Country plan provides an over-arching policy for funding conservation management projects in Australia from costal care to land management.

“There has been some money for the Tassie Devil, which is great, but there is a serious lack of money available for other specific programs for treatened species,” Ms Miller said.

“We welcome the Caring For Our Country plan, but it contains very little money for species specific programs within it.”

“That means unless a threatened species falls under a wider land project, like addressing fires in the Kimberleys, then it is unlikely to get money for a numbers revival program.”

At the start of the year Minister Garrett called for submissions to a priority assessment list of species, those in the most dire situations, who are currently stalled waiting review for endangered listing.

The priority assessment list was released at the start of October which included 27 species, along with a number of other ecological communities and processes.

The Minister’s office last week indicated 26 of these application had already been processed and the final would be completed by October next year. 

The large backlog of species, which is believed to be over 200, developed under the former-Howard Government because of a sharp increase in  applications a result of an increased awareness of the application process, increase in wildlife groups representing specific species and increased environmental pressures on ecosystems.

In addition Minister Garrett announced last week the brush-tailed rabbit rat, a small native rodent found mainly in northern Queensland, Northern Territory and WA, has been elevated to the endangered species list after review by the Threatened Species Panel.

The numbers of the rabbit-rat, which has a distinctive long tail and is found mainly sheltering in trees and hollow logs, has been critically threatened by feral animals such as cats and destruction of habitats through grazing and fire.

Minister Garrett said the Federal Government was partially tackling the rabbit rat’s decline by approving four new plans to address the threat of invasive pests, especially feral cats which he said costs Australia $1 billion a year (this blog will post more on invasive pests in the coming weeks).

Ms Miller welcomed the Government’s new focus on feral animals, in particular feral cats which she said are are much larger problem than other invasive species.

A full or partial revival program for the rabbit-rat will now be drawn up by the Environment Department as a matter of process, but funding and approval is a matter of ministerial discretion.

It is understood the rabbit-rat recovery program, if approved, will be funded from a mix of grants under the Caring For our Country and State Government budgets for endangered species.

It is also understood a number of other species that didn’t make it onto the priority list are currently being reviewed for endangered listing in the current round of meetings of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee which is expected to report early in the new year.

However, a spokesman for Minister Garrett would not reveal the exact numbers currently awaiting endangered species review and the Department’s website has removed a full listing of animals, plants and ecosystems on the waiting list.

At a Senate hearing on December 10 representatives of the Department of Environment, Heritage and the Arts told the committee the Department had moved away from recovery plans towards broader management issues as outlined in the Caring For Our Country policy.

I am proud to be a 5th generation farmer in Ventura County. We grow avocados and citrus, but our family operation dates back to when dry-farmed lima beans were a staple of Ventura’s economy. We have seen many changes and many crops, but we have continued to evolve. To my mind, this is the essence of sustainable agriculture.

Regulatory Burden

Much will be said today about the need for supporting small farms. In no area is a small farm at a greater disadvantage to larger competitors than in regulatory compliance. When a single set of shoulders must bear the weight, the burden gets heavy. If it is the goal of our policies not to have small farmers choose to lay that burden down, we must examine the load. As these listening sessions give way to policy formulation, let us consider chipping away at the layers of policy that exist already. Some are problematic already, and others may become contrary to the new policies adopted to lead to our 2030 vision. I hope we will seek good policy, rather than simply more policy.

Agricultural policy has tended to favor large producers and a small range of crops for global distribution. You may hear advocates tell you that the proper role for policy is to favor the opposite end of the spectrum: very small, highly diversified farms serving local markets. I ask you to recognize that replacing one extreme with the other has seldom worked in politics, economics or any other field of human activity.

Let’s apply the concept of biodiversity to the economics of farming. Just as we now recognize that a range of species must inhabit a given habitat for a healthy environment, a variety of farms make for a healthy farm economy. With Ventura County’s diversity of crops, there is not a day in the year that something isn’t being harvested and sent to market. Our large operations are essential to maintain a healthy population of equipment dealers and service providers. Mid-size family farmers often provide much of the leadership in local co-ops and associations. Smaller farms help sustain the agricultural service economy, and often pioneer specialty crops while feeding local markets. There is room for them all. We need them all. Our vision should embrace them all.

Local Food Systems

Now to the topic of local and regional food. There is currently a great deal enthusiasm for this approach, and I happily support efforts to greatly strengthen this aspect of our food system. But as we look to create policy, we must ask: “How local should we be?”

To be sure, we could do a great deal more. Only 5 to 10 percent of food going to local consumption could yield a great reduction in the amount of energy used for transportation and a boost for local economies. What is the right amount of local food? Is it 30%? 80%?  I don’t have that answer for you, other than to suggest that there is a point beyond which we are not increasing diversity of opportunities for growers and consumers, but restricting them. The antidote to extreme globalization is not extreme localization.

To look at the broader view for a moment: There is a nutritional crisis all over our country, and California agriculture has the ability to deliver nutritional produce throughout the year. It is appropriate, both ethically and economically, that we do so. Changes in policy should recognize that agriculture is both a source of economic strength for California, and a resource for our nation.

Immigration Reform

This state was built with the labor of those seeking a better life through hard work. And for all of our faults and sins along the way, our state and our country have been the greatest generators of wealth, freedom and human happiness this world has ever seen. Today the energy to continue this growth comes not from the East, but from the South. California must lead the way to practical, workable immigration reform. The people who travel here seek work and economic opportunity, and that is what we have to offer. A well managed border is in the national interest of both the United States and Mexico. California stands to gain if we enact meaningful reform, but no state stands to suffer more if we fail.

Invasive Pests

While we need a border that can accommodate a two-way flow of goods and labor, we cannot accommodate the introduction of foreign pests. Phytosanitary controls at the border must be increased. Without these measures, there will be no alternative to costly control measures taken after the fact. As we see currently with the Light Brown Apple Moth, such measures are costly both to government and growers, and will often anger certain segments of our community. Tight controls at the border are not only good policy, they are also a good investment.

Conclusion

I would like to close with a thought on our purpose here today. I often hear it said that we must have a common vision of the future, and that creativity and innovation will be necessary for success.

But if innovation and creativity are the solution to the problems of our food system, then is a common vision a meaningful goal? Has genuine innovation ever emerged from within a broadly held common vision? Or has it been the fringe view (the Uncommon Vision) that has been the origin of innovation? History is filled with those creative souls who have found new ways to accomplish what was thought to be impossible. Do we innovate here today? No, we don’t, but there is a role for us to play.

A common vision transformed into policy places limitations on the possible. Our role here today is not to define how the food system of 2030 will look. Today we begin to define the possibilities, and clearly we must leave them open. We cannot expect to find the results we seek by limiting our options. We must allow room for people to experiment, to make mistakes, and even fail and we will find the answers. If we are not prepared to let innovation be our guide, then we will fail.

I am reminded that here in Ventura County, where we are lucky to have people working on innovative farm-to-school programs, institutional and policy obstacles prevent them from fully realizing the potential of these programs. Will our new policies set them free? I hope so. In our pursuit of “common vision”, let us not preclude the Uncommon Visions that will be the catalysts for true success.

 I am pleased that CDFA is recognizing these issues, and again, Mr. Secretary, I wish to thank you for your time.