1-26 NWR Eradicating Japanese Beetles

This is your Northwest Report for Thursday, January 26 I'm David Sparks and the Oregon Department of Agriculture is doing a pilot program that could serve as a terrific model for the entire Northwest as they try to cope with the dreaded Japanese beetle which can devastate crops.

Last year, a record-high 369 Japanese beetles were trapped in the Bonny Slope and Cedar Mill communities of northwest Portland. The invasive insect pest feeds on a wide range of agricultural and ornamental plants as well as turf.

ODA proposes a plan to target 25-hundred residences in the affected neighborhoods starting in April. Clint Burfitt, manager of ODA's Insect Pest Prevention and Management Program, says the method of treatment does not include a spray or aerial application. Instead, a granular insecticide known as Acelepryn will be applied: "According to the label, it does not pose a hazard to humans or domesticated animals if we use it according to label. This is about as low risk an insecticide as we could find that would also be effective in eradicating Japanese beetle." 

Elsewhere, Northwest food producers are among the nations foremost in terms of getting what they grow onto the tables of local restaurants. There is a new program called "Speed dating for farmers and restaurants and the concept is to set up farmers with chefs, in an effort to put more local food on restaurant tables. It's an event where each farmer or chef who shows up gets a card with a list of potential matches.