Ecological Pest Management & PGC Climate-Smart Commodities Grant Program

This month's Open Mic Night for urban farmers and growers is jam-packed with a seed swap, an interactive session on pest management, and more information on the county's Climate-Smart Commodities Grant!

Managing pests can be a major constraint to agricultural production. However, each pest, whether an insect, disease, or weed, has an Achilles heel that can be exploited. As such, the goal of this presentation is to discuss how our knowledge of pests can be used to help manage 'em by exploiting their weak links.

Cerruti RR Hooks is a Professor & Extension Specialist at the University of Maryland in College Park. He has a BS degree in Biology from North Carolina Central University, an MS degree in Weed Science from NC State, and a PhD in Entomology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His areas of interest and specialisms are conservation biocontrol, sustainable agriculture, and organic farming. He works in agronomic and horticultural farming systems. His multidisciplinary research spans the entomology, nematology, and weed science disciplines.

The Prince George's County Climate-Smart Commodities Grant is pilot program funded by USDA-NRCS and will provide direct financial, technical, and marketing support over a three-year period. The program will prioritize historically underserved and/or specialty-crop producers located in Prince George's County, MD and will start in late 2024.