Many of these groups have joined with EPA in the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program. One problem with many biocontrol projects is that research is often conducted in a vacuum, unconnected to the way the crops actually are produced. After years of research, a product is presented that just does not fit with growers' current practices. It may control a pest, but cannot be integrated into the system. Commodity organizations need to be involved early on in the development of these products.
Little purpose is served by a biocontrol method that has no practical application.
Early involvement by growers and their organizations can be beneficial. Also, research strategies should not ignore chemicals. Once again, the more effective approach might be to show how the biocontrol and chemical practices can work together. The company then returns in several years with the products the farmers described. The biocontrol industry too often produces products that have been developed without first checking with farmers to determine whether that is really what they want.