The Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group: sharing expertise across a region

The Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group (GLVWG) was formally established in October, 2004 with a competitive grant from the North Central IPM Center. Our mission is to form a communication network for vegetable specialists throughout the Great Lakes region and to address current priorities facing growers and the vegetable industry. The Working Group (WG) is composed of nearly 150 researchers and production specialists from the departments of Entomology, Nematology, Horticulture, Plant Pathology, Weed Science, and extension educators primarily from universities located in IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, NY, OH, Ontario, Canada, PA, and WI. There are also WG members from commodity groups, grower associations, and industry representatives who are involved in vegetable production around the Great Lakes region. The GLVWG primarily uses an e-mail listserv to communicate with other members quickly and efficiently. E-mail is also used to solicit rapid input on specific pest management or production questions from other members. GLVWG members organize a 1.5 day conference annually to promote information and program exchange among specialists and discuss current priorities in the vegetable industry. Project committees are formed to develop strategies to best address the key priorities and issues identified each year. Results of the project committee and any other news concerning the organization are communicated to WG members and stakeholders via our listserv and website (http://glvwg.ag.ohio-state.edu/).