Business Plan

The IR-4 Project Business PlanExecutive Summary

The mission of the IR-4 Project is to assist and support US growers of specialty crops by facilitating registration by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other regulatory agencies of sustainable pest management technology for specialty food crops such as fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs and spices; ornamental crops such as landscaping plants, flowers, and Christmas trees; and other horticulture crops, as well as minor uses on major crops. IR-4 concentrates its efforts on lower risk technology that respects humans and the environment.

Other important programs, initiatives, and activities of the IR-4 project include eliminating international trade barriers for US growers of specialty crops, identifying and registering pesticides to manage invasive species, gaining approval of biotechnology solutions for specialty crop protection, and managing arthropod pests that pose a risk to public health.

The IR-4 Project is a partnership between the State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), growers and commodity groups, registrants of biological and chemical pesticides, and the US EPA.

Long-term policy, coordination, and integration are provided by the IR-4 Project Management Committee (PMC). IR-4 Project Headquarters, the four IR-4 Regional Offices, and USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Office of Minor Use Pesticides are responsible for day-to-day management, coordination, and operation of the program.

IR-4’s entire research infrastructure is associated with the SAES and USDA-ARS. Field trials and research are conducted at sites throughout the United States. In addition, some field trials are conducted in Canada.

The nationwide IR-4 program currently employs 125 full-time equivalent staff distributed among IR-4 Project Headquarters, the four IR-4 Regional Offices, and the USDA-ARS Office of Minor Use Pesticides. IR-4 employs a robust communication program to link and facilitate interaction among its staff and stakeholder groups.

The IR-4 Project is funded primarily by USDA and the SAES. Direct federal support for the IR-4 Project (over $17 million in fiscal year 2009) is supplemented by grants from industry and in-kind support from the SAES, conservatively estimated to be equal to the amount of direct federal support.

The IR-4 Project programs, initiatives, and activities planned for the 2010-2014 time period, and the funding required to support these programs, are detailed in the 2009-2014 IR-4 Strategic Plan and in this business plan. The ability of the IR-4 Project to implement the planned programs depends entirely on the amount of

2 | P a g e

federal funding received from USDA and the in-kind support of the SAES. If all the requested funding is received, IR-4 will be able to expand the scope and reach of its programs and activities. If funding remains flat or is reduced, IR-4 will be forced to reduce its scope of research and the level of service it currently provides to US specialty crop growers

IR-4 OVERVIEWThe mission of the IR-4 Project is to facilitate registration of sustainable pest management technology for specialty crops and minor uses on major crops. The IR-4 Project focuses its efforts on providing value and exceptional service to the primary beneficiaries of the Project -growers of specialty food crops (fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, and spices), ornamentals (landscaping plants, flowers, and Christmas trees), and other horticultural crops.

IR-4’s principal duty is to assist in the cooperative registration process of safe and effective pesticides and other pest management technology, supplementing the efforts of industry in markets where economic factors preclude full industry development. IR-4 concentrates its efforts on lower risk technology that respects humans and the environment. Additionally, IR-4 assists specialty crop growers in eliminating international trade barriers caused by the lack of mutually agreed upon Maximum Residue Levels.

IR-4 may also assist growers of major crops by aiding in the registration of minor uses of pesticides. These minor uses on major crops include management of invasive species, approval of biotechnology for specialty crop protection, and management of arthropod pests that transmit vector-borne diseases and thereby pose a risk to public health.

Beneficiaries of IR-4 programs and activities are growers, food processors, and the general public. The general public benefits by having high quality food and ornamental crops available at reasonable prices. Additionally, specialty food crops provide essential nutrition for a balanced diet as well as health-promoting activity recommended by nutritionists and health professionals. Non-food ornamental crops enrich the environment and improve the quality of life. The general public also benefits from IR-4’s efforts to provide safe and effective tools to manage insects that transmit disease and pose a public health threat.

The IR-4 Project is a unique partnership between the State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), growers and commodity groups, registrants of biological and chemical pesticides, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The IR-4 Project is funded primarily by USDA’ National Institute of Food and Agriculture (formerly called Cooperative Research, Education and Extension Service or CSREES), Agriculture Research Service (ARS) and the SAES. Direct federal support for the IR-4 Project (over $16.4 million in fiscal year 2009) is supplemented by in-kind support from SAES; the in-kind contributions of facilities, staff, and services from the SAES are conservatively estimated to be equal to the amount of direct federal support.

Management - Long-term policy, coordination, and integration are provided by the IR-4 Project Management Committee (PMC). The PMC consists of seven voting members and six non-voting members. The voting members are the IR-4 Project Executive Director, the Directors of the IR-4 Regional Offices, the ARS Director of the Office of Minor Use Pesticides, and the Chair of the IR-4 Commodity

3 | P a g e

Liaison Committee. Non-voting members include four Administrative Advisors (each representing one of the four regional associations of the SAES Directors), the ARS Administration, and the NIFA IR-4 National Program Leader. The PMC Chair is elected by the voting members. The PMC meets three times a year to review the status of ongoing programs, develop policy and procedures, set operational budgets, develop strategic plans, and ensure that the program’s overall goals are being met.

IR-4 Project Headquarters, the four IR-4 Regional Offices, and USDA-ARS Office of Minor Use Pesticides are responsible for day-to-day management, coordination, and operation of the program.

Infrastructure - IR-4’s entire research infrastructure is associated with the SAES or USDA-ARS. IR-4 Project Headquarters is located at the New Jersey SAES at Rutgers University. The four IR-4 Regional Offices are located at SAES in New York at Cornell University/Geneva; Florida, at the University of Florida; Michigan, at Michigan State University and in California at the University of California/Davis. USDA-ARS IR-4 activities are coordinated in Beltsville, MD. All units are independent but operate collaboratively.

Field trials and research are conducted at many sites throughout the United States. In addition, some field trials are conducted in Canada under a cooperative project with the Pest Management Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

IR-4 maintains Analytical Laboratories equipped with state-of-the art analytical instrumentation. Crop samples harvested from field trial sites are shipped to the Analytical Laboratories for residue analysis. The main laboratories are housed at the four IR-4 Regional Offices and at USDA-ARS facilities in Beltsville, MD, Tifton, GA and Wapato, WA. IR-4 also cooperates with “Satellite” analytical laboratories at the University of Hawaii and Washington State University/Tri-Cities. Due to excess capacity, the IR-4 Northeast Regional Analytical Laboratory in Geneva, NY is slated for closure by 2010.

Personnel - The nationwide IR-4 program currently employs approximately 125 full-time equivalent staff located at IR-4 Project Headquarters, the four IR-4 Regional Offices, the USDA-ARS Office of Minor Use Pesticides and analytical laboratories, and the numerous field research sites.

IR-4 Project Headquarters currently employs 28 full-time scientists and support staff. Many of the IR-4 Headquarters team have advanced degrees in the pest management sciences of entomology, plant pathology, or weed science; in analytical chemistry; or in general horticulture. IR-4 Project Headquarters staff includes the Executive Director and Associate Director along with a team of Assistant Directors, Managers and Research Coordinators who oversee the Food Program, Ornamental Horticulture Program, Biopesticide, and Organic Support Program and the Public Health Pesticide Programs. All IR-4 Headquarters staff are employed by Rutgers University and are part of the Rutgers University National Center for Specialty Crop Pest Management. The Executive Director also carries the title of Associate Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

Each of the four IR-4 Regional Offices has a Regional Director responsible for the staff and programs in their region. Reporting to the Regional Director are Regional Field Coordinators (RFC), Regional Laboratory Coordinators (RLC), and Regional Quality Assurance Coordinators (RQAC). Other regional staff members include Analytical Laboratory chemists, technicians and support staff. IR-4 Regional Office staff are employed by the host universities.

4 | P a g e

The RFCs are responsible for assigning field residue trials in coordination with the IR-4 Assistant Director to ensure the studies are conducted in the appropriate EPA geoclimatic zones. The RFCs work with Field Research Directors in the SAES to finalize trial locations, oversee their implementation, and review Field Data Books for quality control issues before sending them to the RQACs.

The RQACs perform Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)reviews of Field Data Books and in-life audits of field and laboratory portions of the studies. They also review Analytical Summary Reports provided by chemists in the Analytical Laboratories.

The RLCs are responsible for management of the Analytical Laboratories’ activities and staff. Chemists in the Analytical Laboratories conduct the extraction, purification, and quantification of possible chemical residues in the harvested crops.

The ARS Director of the Office of Minor Use Pesticides manages a program similar to that of the IR-4 Regions except he is responsible for the field and residue assignments.

Another group of individuals involved in the IR-4 Project are the State and Federal Liaison Representatives (SLR). In each state, the Director of the State Agricultural Experiment Station appoints a representative to interact with IR-4. The fundamental role of the IR-4 SLR is to communicate the needs of specialty crop growers and advocate for IR-4 to work on research projects important for their state. Some IR-4 SLRs conduct statewide workshops to identify and prioritize pesticide needs for their state; others collect information during their normal day-to-day activities. The most active IR-4 SLRs are usually from states where specialty crops predominate. ARS Regional Liaisons complement the IR-4 SLRs and serve in similar roles. It should be noted that IR-4 provides only limited financial support for SLR activities. In many states, activities of the IR-4 SLR are subsidized by the State Agriculture Experiment Station.

To better serve the needs of growers, the IR-4 PMC established the IR-4 Commodity Liaison Committee (CLC). The CLC serves as a bridge between IR-4 management and growers of specialty crops, providing guidance and advice on ways in which the IR-4 Project can best serve grower needs. The CLC communicates the IR-4 mission to the agricultural community and, in return, informs IR-4 of grower-level pesticide issues. The CLC also communicates with elected officials and their staff to support appropriate federal funding for IR-4 to maintain a viable research and registration program.

The CLC consists of volunteer representatives of specialty crop growers, local, regional or national food and non-food commodity organizations, food processing companies and crop protection companies.

OBJECTIVES, SERVICES AND FUTURE NEEDSThe Objectives, Services & Future Needs discussed below are drawn from the IR-4 Project Strategic Plan for the years 2009-2014. This plan incorporates expanded and new initiatives recommended as part of the IR-4 Project’s Strategic Planning Conference held in December 2008 as well as from input obtained through a broad solicitation of stakeholders. See Appendix 1, A Strategic Plan for the IR-4 Project (2009-2014), for more detailed information.

Food Program - The purpose of the IR-4 Food Program is to identify and facilitate registrations/approvals which allow growers to use the newest generation and most effective pest management solutions for high-value specialty food crops and minor uses on a major food crop.

5 | P a g e

Emphasis will be placed on using lower/reduced risk chemicals and encouraging uses compatible with Integrated Pest Management and Resistance Management programs.

The traditional scope of the IR-4 Food Program is the development of data measuring the amount of pesticides remaining in or on crops at harvest (residue data) through EPA Guideline Magnitude of Residue studies. IR-4 allocates resources to develop residue data when the agriculture chemical companies determine that a use on a specialty crop does not justify their investment because the cost of data development and product stewardship far exceeds the potential profits from sales in the small market. IR-4’s activities are prioritized based on grower needs.

This residue data is used to establish pesticide tolerances, the maximum level of specific pesticide/metabolites allowed on the crop at harvest by EPA. A pesticide tolerance or an exemption from the requirements of a tolerance must be established by EPA before an agriculture chemical company can register a pesticide or new use of a pesticide on a food crop.

IR-4 develops data in the most efficient manner; promoting the use of crop groups and other available data extrapolations whenever possible. The crop grouping approach allows data developed on a few crops to suffice for many, increasing the efficiency of IR-4’s activities.

IR-4 has been very effective in facilitating establishment of pesticide tolerances by EPA that allow use registrations, which has resulted in many specialty crop commodities having effective tools to manage their primary pests. However, the IR-4 Project continues to receive a steady stream of new requests for assistance. In many cases adequate resources are currently available to work on many of these new pest management voids, and within a reasonable period. In order to keep the productivity of IR-4 at levels where it can handle the high priority pest management voids, IR-4 needs to reinvest in its infrastructure. There is significant concern that the highly technical equipment used in the magnitude of the residue studies is reaching the end of the useful life cycle. Furthermore, there are financial concerns that the in-kind contributions from the host SAES will be reduced or eliminated and the possibility USDA could eliminate the no allowable indirect costs exemption. The occurrence of one or both of the above scenarios would significantly impact IR-4’s ability to operate.

In addition to the above, there are three main needs within the IR-4 Food Program area. First, there is a need to ensure that IR-4’s research efforts translate into useable pesticide registrations. It is recognized that some companies do not always register all the available specialty crop uses. Also, there is a universe of specialty crop registrations that cannot be used because the crop is potentially exported to a country where a corresponding MRL is not available. Finally, there is a need to identify the potential solutions for critical pest management voids, including invasive pests is crucial. IR-4 stakeholders communicated there is a need for IR-4 to coordinate comparative product performance testing to determine efficacy, identifying which available pest management technology is best suited to manage a targeted pest.

Under the 2009-2014 IR-4 Strategic Plan, the IR-4 Food Program has been enhanced to include an initiative that identifies pest management solutions via the development of “Value” data for new or difficult to control pests, and this includes invasive pests in response to high-priority grower needs. Value data is either crop safety data, showing that a pesticide product will not harm the treated plant or efficacy data, showing the ability of the pesticide product to suppress, manage or control the targeted pest(s).

6 | P a g e

A second important enhancement to the IR-4 Food Program is an initiative to pursue and facilitate international harmonization of Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs). The goal of this pursuit is to remove pesticides as a trade barrier for US growers as well as to promote the use of new, safer pest control products. IR-4 works with the crop protection industry and foreign governments to assist in removing these barriers by taking a leading role to harmonize US established pesticide tolerances and international MRLs crop group classifications, and other data critical to ensure free trade of US based commodities. IR-4 will gather and reformat the data packages, supplement them with additional data and information, and submit them to foreign regulatory bodies so they may establish MRLs.

Additionally, working with minor use programs throughout the world, IR-4 is conducting cooperative studies and generating data required to obtain international registrations for new specialty crop uses and minor uses on major crops. Finally, IR-4 provides leadership and fosters a spirit of cooperation with global entities by organizing international reviews, participating on CODEX and OECD committees, conducting joint field trials, and engaging in other activities that may arise.

Ornamental Horticulture Program - The purpose of IR-4’s Ornamental Horticulture Program is to identify and develop efficacy and phytotoxicity data to support reduced risk pest management solutions for ornamental horticulture crops, with an emphasis on the most effective biological and chemical solutions compatible with Integrated Pest Management and resistance management programs. Data developed will establish or expand the number of ornamental horticulture crops or pests on pesticide labels and enable growers to most effectively utilize these tools by assessing their impact on beneficial organisms and their ability to be used within resistance management programs.

IR-4 identifies the most critical pest management voids, including management of newly emerged invasive pests that pose a threat to the production and sales of ornamental horticulture crops. Effective tools for these voids will be assessed for resistance management strategies and impact on previously identified beneficial organisms. Companies are solicited for inclusion of their products and new technology, including plant-incorporated protectants, into testing protocols.

IR-4 cooperates with scientists at public and private facilities to develop the relevant product performance data in support of new and/or expanded registrations. Once sustainable pest management options are identified and data developed, IR-4 will transfer the data to the companies to allow them to establish domestic registrations.

As part of the enhanced mission in the Ornamental Horticulture area, IR-4 will conduct research with the intent to rapidly test pest management technology leading to the identification of products that could be used in the eradication and/or management of invasive pests that harm ornamental specialty crops as well as food crops. Similar to the comparative product performance testing process, IR-4 will conduct broad efficacy trials in multiple locations with multiple products to determine which product(s) provide the best opportunity to control invasive pests. The best performing technology will be chosen for additional registration activities.

Looking forward, there is a potential for IR-4 to assist the Ornamental Horticulture industry by working with USDA-Animal Plant Health Inspection Service in screening select new ornamental species for their ability to become an invasive weed. Containment facilities will be established at various locations and

7 | P a g e

potential new species will be planted and observed. The goal is to indentify for market species that do not exhibit the ability to become an invasive weed.

Additional resources are needed to allow the Ornamental Horticulture program to expand to better serve the need of the stakeholders. Increased funding would allow for more efficacy and crop safety research projects, more resources to ascertain the impact of certain pesticides on integrated pest management and resistance management systems.

Biopesticide and Organic Support Program - The purpose of the Biopesticide and Organic Support Program is to support research and provide regulatory support that enhances the development, registration, and use of biopesticides in conventional specialty crop production systems and to facilitate the approval of pest management technology for use in certified organic production systems. IR-4 pursues its goals for this program in three main ways: (1) by providing competitive funding of research proposals to assist in the development and use of biopesticides; (2) by providing regulatory support for the registration and/or approval of publicly developed biopesticides as well as those developed by small businesses; and (3) by providing organic growers access to approved and relevant pest management solutions by adding new products to the National Organic Program’s National List of substances approved for organic production.

IR-4 funds grants to scientists at agricultural experiments stations, USDA and other public and private institutions to develop data on biopesticides to manage pests. On an annual basis, IR-4 releases a Request for Applications for Biopesticide grants in three categories (Early Stage, Advance Stage, and Demonstration Stage). IR-4 receives these applications, convene a review panel of experts and decides which proposals are the most relevant and worthy of funding. Only about 40% of requested funds are awarded.

Additionally, IR-4 provides regulatory assistance to small businesses and public institutions for biopesticide registrations within the EPA regulatory process. IR-4 works with stakeholders and the EPA to determine the particulars of what is needed for registration and how to best achieve registration.

The new initiative in the Biopesticide area is to provide support to growers of certified organic crops by facilitating the listing of biopesticides and other pest management technology as an approved product for use by the National Organic Program’s (NOP) National List of Substances Approved for Organic Production. IR-4 helps provide additional efficacy data to support registration of biopesticide products approved for pest management use in certified organic farms. Additionally, IR-4 expertise can help pesticide manufacturers evaluate existing products or advise on the reformulation of existing products to meet the criteria established by the NOP organic rule. IR-4 will act as a prescreener/advisor to companies before they submit their materials to an accredited certifier for review and inclusion on their approved materials lists.

Cooperative Public Health Pesticide Registration Support Program - The purpose of this new initiative is to facilitate the registration of pest management products that arthropod pests that transmit vector-borne diseases and threaten human health.

In 2008, IR-4 Project Headquarters entered into a cooperative agreement with USDA-ARS and the US Department of Defense (DOD) to provide regulatory support for new pesticides and other technologies in the control of arthropod pests that transmit diseases to humans, concentrating on pests relevant to US

8 | P a g e

military troops deployed in environments where vector-borne diseases threaten human health. The scope of this initiative was limited, concentrating on pests and pest management technology that was relevant to USDA and DOD priorities. In this cooperative agreement, IR-4 Project Headquarters provides basic regulatory support.

Though this cooperative project is somewhat out of the scope of IR-4 traditional mission with agriculture crops, the management of arthropods of medical importance is a priority objective of the US government as well as numerous non-governmental organizations. The need for an organization like IR-4 to provide regulatory support for the minor uses of pesticides for public health uses was articulated in Minor Use Title of the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act.

Given IR-4 Project’s expertise in data development supporting of pesticide registrations on minor uses, USDA-ARS requested assistance to provide those involved in public health pest management with the newest generation of lower/reduced risk pesticides used in respect of humans and the environment while effectively controlling pests that transmit human health diseases.

IR-4 will assist in this effort by working with registrants of pesticides, biopesticides, and other pest management technologies and engaging them in opportunities to cooperatively develop their products for the public health arena. IR-4 will also assist in efforts to integrate the concepts of harmonization, joint reviews, and data sharing into the process for registering public health pesticides. If and when appropriate, IR-4 will directly assist in the development of data for product registration. For example, in certain cases, Magnitude of Residue data is needed to support registration and subsequent use of pesticides that control mosquitoes near sites where food crops are grown.

In addition to the obvious benefits to public health and the environment, IR-4 will itself benefit from this cooperative project by gaining access to new chemical and biological control technology that is being developed by USDA-ARS for public health uses. This new technology could have applicability in specialty crop pest management. For example, ARS has patented sprayable RNA interference technology for public health uses that could be modified for agriculture uses.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

In federal fiscal year 2009 (FY 09), IR-4 operated with approximately $18 million dollars of direct support and an estimated $18 million dollars of in-kind contributions. The sources of direct funding include USDA funding from CSREES (authorization and support of IR-4 moved into National Institute of Food and Agriculture or NIFA on October 1, 2009), ARS, FAS, funding from the SAES, the crop protection industry and EPA. The direct funding was received from the following sources:

USDA-CSREES - In Fiscal Year 2009, the US Congress provided IR-4 a direct appropriation of $12.0 million through a competitive process via CSREES Improved Pest Control Category funding category. The funds were allocated by the IR-4 Project Management Committee as follows:

Category

CSREES Mandatory Holdback $ 790,000HQ Operations $ 2,802,000

North East Region Operations $ 1,112,000

9 | P a g e

Northcentral Region Operations $ 1,213,000Southern Region Operations $ 1,213,000Western Region Operations $ 1,687,000Food Program Field Trials $ 2,200,000

Ornamental Horticulture Field Trials $ 475,000Biopesticide and Organic Support Grants $ 375,000

Contract Laboratory Analysis $ 140,000

USDA - Agriculture Research Service – In FY 09 resources were appropriated to ARS to contribute to IR-4 activities. This includes approximately $4.0 million to complement the IR-4 efforts with CSREES funds for the Food and Ornamental Horticulture objectives. ARS also provided $260,000 to support the pilot IR-4 Headquarters Public Health Cooperative Agreement.USDA - Foreign Agriculture Service –IR-4 Headquarters submitted a competitive grant application to FAS to obtain resources to conduct the Global Residue Study. This application was competitively reviewed, approved and IR-4 Headquarters were awarded approximately $250,000. State Agriculture Experiment Stations – The Directors of the State Agriculture Experiment Stations allocated $481,152 to the operations of IR-4 Headquarters though the Multi-state research grants for National Research Service Programs Four (NRSP-4). Crop Protection Industry Grants. – Many biopesticide and conventional pesticide/chemical companies provide IR-4 Headquarters with unrestricted grants to assist in operations. In 2009, companies provided a total of $1,022,500 to IR-4 Headquarters to support the advancement of IR-4. US EPA – The EPA Biopesticide and Pollution Prevention Division provided a small grant to supplement the IR-4 Biopesticide Grants program. In FY 2009, EPA provided $100,000.

As noted earlier, “In-Kind” funding is estimated to be equal to the amount of direct funding. In-Kind funding comes from three major sources, the State Agriculture Experiment Stations, the Crop Protection companies and the Pest Management Centre of Agriculture and Ag-Food Canada (AAFC). The State Agriculture Experiment Stations host all of the IR-4 research units. In most cased all of the indirect and some direct costs of the IR-4 units operations are picked up by the host institution. The Crop Protection companies provide IR-4 with all of their test and reference substances free of charge as well as technical expertise to complete the studies. Finally, the Pest Management Centre of AAFC works in concert with IR-4, picking up the cost of research in several studies where necessary field trials are conducted in Canada. Canadian cooperators also manage a few cooperative priority studies for IR-4 free of charge.

Research Costs for Current (FY 2009) Core Activities:Food Program - The cost to conduct a Magnitude of the Residue Study varies greatly from study to study based on the number of field trials, the number of test substance applications, the number of resulting residue samples, the cost of analysis as well and management fees.

It is generally estimated that each IR-4 sponsored study costs approximately $150,000. In FY 09, IR-4 provided $4,750 in reimbursement to field cooperators at state agriculture experiment stations for each field trial conducted. A typical study consists of seven field trials. The cost of research management, sample analysis and quality assurance/quality control are borne under the core spending for IR-4 Headquarters and the four regional and/or ARS facilities.

Ornamental Horticulture – Approximately $1.0 million dollars are spent on research support new registrations for ornamental horticulture work with 50% coming from CSREES sources and the remainder from ARS. Additionally, there is approximately $225,000 spent to manage and/or coordinate the research

10 | P a g e

from IR-4 Headquarters, the four regional offices and ARS. The cost per specific ornamental research project varies significantly. However, it can be estimated that the average cost per field trial is $500. This is much reduced from a food crop research that must be done under EPA’s GLP Requirements.

Biopesticide and Organic Support: - IR-4 efforts in Biopesticide and Organic Support consists of providing grants up a total nearly $400,000. Additionally, management/coordination costs borne by IR-4 Headquarters and the Regions total approximately $150,000.

Future Funding Needs and RequestsCore ProgramsOver the next five years it is anticipated that costs to conduct the core programs at existing output levels (approximately 100 magnitude of the residue studies/450 NIFA funded residue field trials studies, 33 value [efficacy/crop safety] trials, 1050 ornamental horticulture field trials and 25 biopesticide grants) will increase. To maintain the core output activities funding from NIFA would have to increase from $12.0 million in 2010 to $13.7 million in 2014; equivalent to a 14.1% increase over the period of performance. ARS funding will have to increase at corresponding rate of growth; from at $4.0 million in 2010 to $4.56 million by 2014. The increase factors in an annual 4% increase to cover increased core personnel and laboratory expenses. Included in the budget figures is $600,000 a year to purchase/lease new equipment for the IR-4 analytical laboratories and field sites. Much of the current equipment at these research sites is reaching the end of its life cycle and new equipment is an absolute necessity. The details of this proposal are found below in Table 1.

Table 1. Division of NIFA Resources within the IR-4 Project to maintain 2009 Research Outputs for years 2010 to 2014

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014Personnel & Laboratory Expenses $7,300,000 $7,349,680 $7,643,667 $7,949,414 $8,267,390Field Trials-Food Crops $2,350,000 $2,468,125 $2,582,250 $2,698 ,875 $2,815,500Field Trials - Ornamentals $550,000 $577,500 $603,750 $630,000 $656,250Biopesticide Grants $400,000 $416,000 $432,640 $449,945 $467,943Equipment Replacement $610,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000 $600,000NIFA Holdback (6.6%) $790,000 $805,058 $836,876 $869,746 $903,529TOTAL $12,000,000 $12,216,363 $12,699,183 $13,197,980 $13,710,612

Recognizing that during the next five years appropriations from Congress through NIFA and/or ARS may be limited and increases may not be available to sustain existing research outputs. If Congress is able to maintain the current $12.0 million from NIFA and $4.0 million from ARS, specific aspects of IR-4 will need to be reduced. Cuts will be made in the number of field trials/studies in the food program, field trials in the ornamentals and biopesticide grants provided resulting in the expected research output pattern outlined in Table 2.

Table 2. Reduction in IR-4 Research Outputs for 2010 to 2014 under stable NIFA/ARS funding PRODUCTS 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014Residue Trials -Food Crops 600 580 560 540 535Value Trials-Food Crops 33 27 24 0 0Field Trials-Ornamentals 1050 950 850 750 700

11 | P a g e

Biopesticides Grants 25 23 20 18 18 Under flat funding scenario some priority is being maintained to increase the amount of funds allocated for individual food and ornamental research trials. This is being done in recognition that the host institutions for many of the IR-4 field research sites are facing significant budget challenges and are unable to provide as much “In-Kind” contributions as provided in the past and IR-4 will be required to contribute more to the total cost of the field work. This scenario also provides fewer resources to replace obsolete research equipment. Equipment replacement funds are eliminated in 2014. The flat funding situation provides increases to the Personnel and Laboratory Expenses to 4% every year. This is necessary because many of the expenses under this category are fixed, the units (Regions & IR-4 Project Headquarters) will have to absorb fixed expenses increases above 4% by various internal cost cutting means. Table 3 contains the proposed budget breakdown.

Table 3. Division of NIFA Resources within the IR-4 Project based on a level appropriation in NIFA and ARS funds for years 2010 to 2014

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014Personnel & Laboratory Expenses $7,300,000 $7,349,680 $7,643,667 $7,949,414 $8,267,390

Field Trials-Food Crops $2,350,000 $2,429,375 $2,333,000 $2,223,000 $2,190,000 Field Trials - Ornamentals $550,000 $522,500 $490,450 $450,000 $420,000

Biopesticide Grants $400,000 $382,720 $346,112 $323,960 $323,960 Equipment Replacement $610,000 $500,000 $400,000 $250,000 $0

NIFA Holdback (6.6%) $790,000 $790,000 $790,000 $790,000 $790,000 TOTAL $12,000,000 $11,994,275 $12,003,229 $11,986,374 $11,991,350

A more dire situation would be if Congress cuts NIFA and/or ARS appropriations below current levels. For example if funds were cut 10% in 2011 and another 5% in 2012, IR-4 would have to make significant cuts in many areas. Table 4 outlines some of the research output cuts.

Table 4. Reduction in IR-4 Research Outputs for 2010 to 2014 under Reduced NIFA/ARS funding PRODUCTS 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014Residue Trials -Food Crops 600 570 525 500 490Value Trials-Food Crops 33 0 0 0 0Field Trials-Ornamentals 1050 900 700 700 650Biopesticides Grants 25 20 15 15 14

A reduction in funding would severely restrict the IR-4 Project, leading to possible staff lay-offs and no funds to replace obsolete equipment. If under this scenario, should a vital piece of equipment would require replacement, additional research trials would be eliminated to pay for the necessary repair or replacement. Potential project allocations for a level and reduced funding situation are found in Table 5.

Table 5. Division of NIFA Resources within the IR-4 Project based on a reduced appropriation in NIFA and ARS funds for years 2010 to 2014

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014Personnel & Laboratory

Expenses $7,300,000 $7,067,000 $7,067,000 $7,208,340 $7,281,602Field Trials-Food Crops $2,350,000 $2,100,000 $1,890,840 $1,749,500 $1,725,000

12 | P a g e

Field Trials - Ornamentals $550,000 $450,000 $350,000 $350,000 $325,000Biopesticide Grants $400,000 $375,000 $275,000 $275,000 $250,000

Equipment Replacement $610,000 $95,000 $0 $0 $0NIFA Holdback (6.6%) $790,000 $712,800 $677,160 $677,160 $677,160

TOTAL $12,000,000 $10,799,800 $10,260,000 $10,260,000 $10,258,762

Enhanced Core Programs The assumption of this business plans is that $12.0 million dollars is the base amount to cover the IR-4 Core objectives. Additional funding from NIFA, ARS, FAS or other sources will be needed to cover the expenses associated with many of the enhanced core activities. It is important to note that the enhancement involving Comparative Product Performance Tests and Value Testing for food crop could be funded under the Core budget line item for “Field Trials-Food Crops” based on documented stakeholder need for assistance.

Comparative Product Performance Tests – It is anticipated that the cost for each Comparative Product Performance Tests to find solution(s) for a specific pests will range from $45,000 to $90,000. The final cost will depend on the number of locations involved in the test, the number of products included in the test, and the difficulty involved in the test. Given all the factors, the average estimated cost per test will be $75,000. IR-4 intends to target at least three high priority pest management voids on an annual basis from existing or new sources of funds. Supporting dollars for manufacturers and or grower groups will be sought to augment this program. This cost does not include any additional cost if preliminary residue trials to support emergency exemptions are conducted.

Additional Value Data Tests – Like the Comparative Performance Testing, the cost of the Value Data Tests can vary greatly. In 2009, $3,000 was given for each individual field trials associated with value testing. The number of sites to appropriate answer the data needs will depend on target pest and the target crop(s). It is anticipated that total cost of tests will vary from $9,000 and $30,000.

International Harmonization & Cooperation – The IR-4 Project requests an additional $ 500,000 from USDA-FAS via TASC and/or Emerging Market Program grants to assist in reducing trade barriers with US trading partners caused by pesticide residues in specialty crops. This funding will provide IR-4 the ability to reformat existing data and submit the data to international bodies for harmonization of US pesticide tolerances with international MRLs. These resources would also allow the IR-4 Project to continue in its leadership role in global harmonization of pesticide issues with specialty crops including activities within CODEX Committee on Pesticide Residues, Expert Group on Minor Uses of OECD and through the organization of the Second Global Minor Use Summit. To accomplish this initiative, it is estimated 0.75 FTE of a scientist and 0.25 of a manager will be needed. Taking salary/fringe and travel into account, the cost is estimated to be $165,000 annually. Additionally, it is anticipated that for several specialty crop uses it will be necessary to develop additional data to meet the minimum international data guidelines. This cost is estimated to be $185,000 annually.

Expanded Ornamental Horticulture Program – IR-4 stakeholders identified the need for increased funding for the Ornamental Horticulture Program. An additional $810,000 would enable IR-4 to have a greater impact by providing more data to support adding new pests and/or new plant species to the labels of lower-risk chemical products and to characterize the resistance management potential and the impact of beneficial organisms. It is anticipated $700,000 will be used for field research; potentially doubling the output and deliverables in the Ornamental Horticulture area. It

13 | P a g e

will be necessary to hire an additional FTE to manage the expanded activities. Taking salary/benefit and travel cost into account, the FTE is estimated to be $110,000 annually. This funding increase will allow IR-4 to better support the needs of this rapidly expanding segment of specialty crop agriculture and provide a faster response to critical grower needs.

Invasive Pests/Plants Testing - The invasive species component involves a response to new pests that attack ornamental species and screening potential new ornamental plants for their ability to become invasive. The cost to response to new pests that attack ornamental plant species is estimated to be between $275,000 and $500,000 per pest. The cost to screen potential new ornamental species is estimated to be $1.1 million annually.

Biopesticide and Organic Support - A funding increase of $250,000 would provide for new research projects to directly assist growers of organic crops by furthering pest management technology available for crops targeted for organic markets. IR-4 would increase funding for organic support to fund approximately 10 additional grants. In addition, IR-4 Headquarters will need to allocate 0.25 of a scientific FTE to provide regulatory support. This will cost approximately $50,000 annually for salary/fringe and travel.

Cooperative Public Health Pesticide Registration Support Program – To continue providing regulatory support to the cooperative efforts with USDA-ARS and the Department of Defense, it is estimated that IR-4 will need $260,000 annually for the salary/fringe and travel costs of 1.20 FTE. It is anticipated that should additional costs be incurred to contract studies required for registration, USDA-ARS and/or Department of Defense will provide the necessary funding.

Table 6 – Summary of Potential IR-4 Program Enhancements, Potential Funding Sources and Proposed Funding Request for 2010 to 2014

Enhancements Potential Source 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014Food Crop Efficacy & Crop Safety

NIFA-IR-4 funding and/or industry $225,000 $225,000 $225,000 $225,000 $225,000

Expanded Ornamental Horticulture Program NIFA-Earmark $0 $810,000 $810,000 $810,000 $810,000Biopesticides & Organic Support

NIFA-National Organic Program Grant $0 $250,000 $250,000 $250,000 $250,000

Global Harmonization Activities

FAS-Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops Grant $250,000 $300,000 $300,000 $300,000 $300,000

Invasive Pests/Plants Activities APHIS-PPQC Grants

$2,000,000

$2,000,000 $2,000,000

$2,000,000 $2,000,000

TOTAL$2,475,00

0$3,585,00

0 $3,585,000$3,585,00

0 $3,585,000

COMMUNICATION STRATEGRYIR-4 has developed a robust communications plan and employs a mix of communication tools and media designed to inform and engage all of its stakeholder groups. The IR-4 communications plan targets growers, commodity groups, researchers, industry representatives and legislators.

IR-4 uses several Internet-based communication tools to communicate with and receive feedback from its constituent groups. Internet-based communications are updated frequently and provide a platform for two-way interaction with stakeholders. The IR-4 web site (www.ir4.rutgers.edu) is updated daily and provides the IR-4 community with the most current news and information. Web site content includes general information, information about upcoming events, and links to IR-4 newsletters. There are tabs containing extensive information specific to the Food, Ornamentals, and Biopesticides programs as well as links to information about crop grouping. Also included is an IR-4 Professional Directory users can search in numerous ways.

14 | P a g e

The web site also provides access to searchable databases containing information about food crop and ornamental research projects, allows users to request projects to be researched and register for the annual Food Use and Ornamental Horticulture Workshops. The web site also contains links to the Global Minor Use Information Portal and to other international sources of information. The IR-4 Facebook and YouTube areas contain information about events and include links to the IR-4 website. Additional content will be added as appropriate.

IR-4 develops and distributes numerous print communication tools. These include, brochures, flyers, posters, news releases, monthly activity reports newsletters, Annual Reports and Strategic plan.

15 | P a g e