Action does not take place in the conference room. Mention was made of a recent partnership between Wisconsin Potato Growers and World Wildlife Fund for prescriptive spraying of potato crops. The World Wildlife Fund is exploring ways to allow growers to use its well-recognized panda logo on produce raised in accordance with various IPM techniques. 2.6 million grower dollars have been put into research for improving farming practices. IJC was encouraged to look at pollutant trading for nutrients and toxic chemicals.
Partnerships can be effective in addressing specific problem areas.
Significant opportunities exist for computer technology to be used in education and sharing best practices. From the average consumers perspective, the question was raised that laws are not adequate for application of fertilizers and pest sprays. A counterpoint was made that with 30,000- 60,000 farms in the state, no blanket mechanism for reporting spraying would be possible. Relative exposure was raised as a concern. Where does risk from pesticides rank in comparison to indoor air quality, combustion pollution, etc.