NFU Environmental Land Management - Integrated Pest Management Test and Trial

This project addressed three ELM theme areas: Land Management Plans (LMPs) to record IPM public goods delivery: An IPM LMP tool was developed to enable farmers to produce an IPM-focussed LMP. The tool guided farmers to: (i) identify priority pests (invertebrates, weeds and diseases) on their farm, (ii) identify effective IPM control measures which suited their systems for those pests, (iii) record whether they were already implementing those IPM control measures or intended to implement new IPM control measures in the short or long term, and (iv) produce an IPM LMP report. Advice and guidance: To assess the supportfarmers require to create an IPM LMP, farmer participants were sub-divided into three groups and the outcomes from the groups were assessed.Group 1 self-completed their LMP using the guidance in the tool and written guidance notes. Group 2 attended an online workshop where crop protection specialists provided guidance on IPM and how to complete the IPM LMP (delivered virtually with written guidance notes provided). Group 3 received 1-to-1 guidance from a crop protection specialist (delivered virtually). Payment mechanisms: To providing insight into the possible basis for payment mechanisms, interviews with participants from the three groups assessed the impact of IPM LMP guidance on farm practice and attitudinal change, and identified barriers and incentives to IPM uptake.Findings• A baseline VI/NFU IPM assessment plan completed by 274 participant farmers demonstrated substantial existing IPM implementation and scope for increased IPM measures in all sectors.• The IPM LMP tool was well received by farmers: feedback was positive and 88% said they would recommend the process to other farmers. • High levels of successful completion of IPM LMPs were obtained, even by group 1 (self-completion by farmers, with access to the guidance in the tool and accompanying written guidance). • Farmers completed the IPM LMP and created a report typically within one to two hours. • During the IPM LMP process, farmers committed to increased adoption of IPM beyond current practice, through specific practices recorded in the LMP.• The level of increased commitment in the LMPs was similar across the self-completion, workshop and 1-to-1 groups. • In subsequent interviews, the behaviours and opinions surrounding IPM were also similar between the three groups. ‘Economic’ and ‘environmental’ were the most cited drivers for IPM. Key barriers to uptake of IPM were highlighted as ‘economic’, ‘lack of knowledge or understanding of IPM’, and ‘mindset or habits’.‘Economic’ factors were highlighted as the biggest encouragement to implement IPM, followed by ‘good advertisement of IPM’ and ‘education’.• Implementing an IPM ELM pilot on contrasting crops would progress beyond the work of this T&T by: (i) testing IPM LMP tools for a wider range of key crops selected as being the focus of IPM ELM, (ii) testing if the importance of economic incentives, indicated by participants in this project, are borne out in practice; specifically by testing to what extent economic incentives increase commitment to change IPM practices, and (iii) identifying how IPM LMPs could work as part of anSFI scheme.