Dear Friends,
Following up on my message earlier this year, IR-4 is getting closer to our first ever Week of Workshops, September 23-26, 2019 at the Delta Hotel (Marriott) in Hunt Valley, Maryland (just north of the Beltway around Baltimore). Recall, IR-4 is combining its traditional Food Use Residue priority setting with Food Crop Integrated Solutions and Environmental (Ornamental) Horticulture priority setting at one venue in the same week. This change is driven by opportunities to maintain the traditional face-to-face workshop priority setting formats while reducing overall costs.
The schedule remains as follows:
| Time of Day | Monday 9/23/2019 |
Tuesday 9/24/2019 |
Wednesday 9/25/2019 |
Thursday 9/26/2019 |
| Morning | Open | Food Crops – Residue & Performance | Food Crops – Integrated Solutions | Environmental Horticulture |
| Afternoon | General Session * | EPA Update Food Crops – Residue & Performance |
IR-4 2025 Strategic Plan Discussion | Environmental Horticulture |
| Evening | Reception | Reception | Reception | Open |
General Session. Please note that the General Session will include presentations from IR-4 personnel as well as the Food Program crop protection industry presentations on conventional pesticides and biopesticides. The Environmental Horticulture product presentations will occur on Thursday.
Food Crop Program. IR-4 will be following established procedures in the nomination of potential research projects in the Food Program prior to the meeting. This includes the deadline of August 27 for submission of new requests to be considered in the on-line nomination process. Please see How To Submit PCR Request for guidance. Researchable project requests will be posted on the IR-4 Website between August 29 and September 11 for stakeholders to nominate. Nomination results will be posted on the IR-4 Website September 19 and only “A-nominated” requests will be discussed and prioritized during the workshop.
A similar on-line project request nomination will be used for establishment of priorities for the Integrated Solutions 2020 research plan. The deadline to submit requests for Integrated Solutions is also August 27. Potential projects will be posted on the IR-4 Website between August 29 and September 11 for nomination, and only “A-nominated” projects will then be discussed at the workshop.
Instructions regarding the nomination process and number of priorities for the food and integrated programs will be provided in August, when the websites open for nomination.
Strategic Planning. Please note that we have set aside some time on Wednesday afternoon (September 25) to discuss the strategic direction IR-4 should take to best serve the needs of our primary stakeholders. The Strategic Planning session on Wednesday afternoon will look to solicit feedback on IR-4’s key priorities for the next five-year period (2020-2025).
Environmental Horticulture Program. IR-4 will continue to utilize the Grower & Extension Survey to solicit projects for the 2020/2021 research cycle. This general survey seeks to identify pathogens, pests and weeds growers are not easily able to manage. The deadline to submit surveys is July 31. New potential projects submitted through the Project Request Form are also welcome, particularly those specifically related to biopesticides not able to be included in traditional screening programs. The deadline for these is August 30.
In addition to the receptions noted above, many meals and refreshment breaks will be provided including breakfast/lunch on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Company donations and the registration fee cover the cost of the food/beverage/AV. This year, the registration fee is $250 for the Food Use Workshop and $250 for the Environmental Horticulture Workshop. A discounted rate of $400 will be offered if you want to register for both Workshops. Access to the General Session, Integrated Solutions and Strategic Planning is included in the registration for either the Food Use and/or Environmental Horticulture Workshops. Register here.
Book your group rate for IR-4 Workshops at the Delta Hotels Baltimore Hunt Valley here. You may also call the hotel directly at 410-785-7000 and ask for the Delta in Hunt Valley, MD at 245 Shawan Road and the IR-4 Workshop. The nightly rate is $102 single/double. Please note the cutoff date for the conference rate is August 22, 2019. After this date, reservations will only be accepted on an availability/rate basis.
We look forward to your participation at this new and exciting Week of Workshops that brings the best of all of IR-4’s research programs and stakeholders together in one week in one venue. Please reach out to Cheryl Ferrazoli (cheryl.ferrazoli@rutgers.edu) if you have any questions or need additional information.
Jerry Baron
Executive Director
IR-4 Project
500 College Road East, Suite 201
Princeton, NJ 08540
jbaron@njaes.rutgers.edu
Office: (732) 932-9575 extension 4605
Cell: (908) 627-4213