The Florida Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) Program, a cooperative survey and detection initiative between the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) – Plant Protection & Quarantine (PPQ) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Division of Plant Industry (FDACS-DPI), will be holding a planning workshop on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 in the FDACS-DPI Doyle Conner Building auditorium at 1911 SW 34th Street, in Gainesville. You are being invited because of past cooperative work efforts with one or more members of our staff currently working on or assisting the CAPS program or because your knowledge and/or expertise would be helpful in our efforts. We are succeeding because of our current networking with experts in many agencies, institutions and industry groups and hope to continue to build on this networking of knowledge, expertise and survey resources.

The workshop will begin with presentations describing the many initiatives our Florida CAPS team accomplished last year. Following the presentations, we encourage your suggestions and discussion of future survey projects for our CAPS team. The CAPS program is responsible for supplying a means of detection, documentation and rapid dissemination of information on the survey of plant pests and weeds in the United States. The Program employs one state survey coordinator, four pest survey specialists, a GIS mapping specialist, an information specialist, a laboratory technician, an entomological identifier, and three farm bill technicians, all of whom conduct and assist with exotic pest surveys in Florida’s natural and commercial agricultural resources. The program provides PPQ and cooperators with distribution information on pests in the US and the survey information gathered is entered into a central database known as the National Agricultural Pest Information System (NAPIS).

Some of the topics to be presented and discussed include:

• Exotic Wood Boring Bark Beetles
• ­­Survey for Old World Bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and Other Pests of Tomato
• Mollusk Survey
• Corn Commodity Surveys – Multiple pest
• Nursery Surveys – Multiple pests.

Please advise at your earliest convenience if you will be able to attend this workshop. We greatly appreciate your time and efforts and look forward to your valued participation!

Please use the link below to register for the meeting. We will also be ordering in lunch from Panera Bread. You will also be able to use the link to order lunch. After you selected “yes” to attend, additional drop downs will appear that will allow you to select your lunch of choice. The cost person will be $12.00. Of course you are welcome to bring your own lunch if you do not wish to order from Panera..

Registration and lunch, please follow this link: https://arcg.is/15HOKa

Bradley A Danner

State Survey Coordinator

Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS)

Division of Plant Industry (DPI)

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services




Office:  (352)395-4649

Cell:  (352)258-5074

bradley.danner@freshfromflorida.com




www.freshfromflorida.com

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