Development of On-line and Print Versions of the Cornell Guidelines for: Integrated Field Crop Management; Pest Management Guidelines for Commercial Turf; and Commercial Production and Maintenance of Trees and Shrubs

Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) publishes a series of agronomic and horticultural guidelines to help individuals optimize production and pest management decisions regarding crops, commodities, and landscape grown in New York State. Currently CCE publishes guides for: greenhouse florist crops, grapes, commercial turfgrass, berry crops, commercial tree-fruit production, commercial production and maintenance of trees and shrubs, vegetables, wildlife, herbaceous perennials, pest management around the home, horses, poultry, dairy cattle, sheep, goats and swine. Of these publications, most are revised and updated annually. Providing CCE clientele with the best crop production and pest management information in a user friendly and timely manner is important to enhancing outreach efficiency, educational impacts, user net profitability and environmental protection. These grower oriented “guides”, formerly titled “Cornell Recommends”, have been published for many years as print copies. With the advent, growth, and explosion in popularity of the world wide web some Cornell commodities have begun to enhance their outreach to clientele by using this new internet media. (For example see: Cornell Vegetable Guidelines at: http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/recommends/). In mid 2002, the field crops extension program began to explore the goal of making the information in the Cornell Guide for Integrated Field Crop Management more generally available to clientele by using Internet technology. About the same time the NYS IPM Program received some additional funding from state legislators to support IPM special projects. In May 2002, a portion of these monies were made available to pursue the web development project and hire a web publishing expert with experience in desk top publishing, software and website development, and database management