The North Central Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Center brings people together and provides necessary resources to solve the region’s important pest problems. As one of four regional centers funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the North Central IPM Center works to promote and facilitate the adoption of effective integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. The Center serves as the hub for multi-state partnerships and communication networks that link researchers, farmers, extension educators, commodity organizations, environmental groups, pest control professionals, government agencies and others from the 12-state North Central region of the continental United States.
The Center is currently housed at Iowa State University and Michigan State University.
NCIPMC Mission Statement
The Regional IPM Centers champion the development and adoption of integrated pest management, the science of managing pests while protecting people, the environment and economy. Each Center engages broadly with stakeholders to identify and address regional pest priorities in agriculture, communities and natural areas.
What the Center Does
The Center encourages a science-based approach to pest management in order to reduce risks to people, food supply and the environment. By using pest biology, environmental information and all other available technologies, we strive to reduce pest damage to tolerable levels, through the most economical means. Our goal is to bring people together and provide the necessary resources to solve the North Central region’s important pest problems.
In addition, the Center coordinates efforts to manage invasive species in the region and even supports national invasive species efforts by creating pest alerts.
How The Center Supports IPM
The North Central IPM Center works to increase the adoption of IPM practices in our region by funding IPM activities through working group and critical issues grants, facilitating communication and collaboration within our region (stakeholders, practitioners, researchers and the general public) and nationally (other IPM Centers, intra-regional working groups and research, USDA-NIFA), and by administering several signature programs supporting sustainability and food security.
