A horticultural sector specific version of the VI IPM Plan is launched for UK growers. "Completing an IPM plan annually will help ensure that opportunities to improve productivity are not missed and also help meet the market demand to see more sustainable practices and reduced reliance on pesticides. It may also be necessary for compliance with farm assurance schemes", the NFU writes.
IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is a whole farm approach to crop protection that maximises profitability while minimising environmental impact. The IPM plan enables individual businesses to evaluate their crop protection practices and continue to improve and develop IPM planning.
The plan allocates scores for the different components of IPM, enabling users to establish a baseline score and measure improvements year on year. Upon completion you will receive a tailored report of your plan.
The collated information collected through these plans will be used to measure IPM uptake across the industry and may be used to help develop future policy and lobbying work. Data collected from individual businesses will not be published or allow businesses to be identified by inference.
Discover more at NFU Online.