who apply pesticides for hire. State Departments of Agriculture and 

 several federal agencies regulate many of these activities. There 

 are approximately 500 Extension specialists with assignments in the 

 areas of crop and animal health as well as county agents who provide 

 information; most specialists are located on university campuses. 

 At the present time there are about 500 private consultants working 

 independently or for farm service firms and farmers' cooperatives 

 to provide advice and make recommendations on IPM, and most of 

 these professionals have been in practice less than five years. 



There are other interesting comparisons. For medical advice and 

 recommendations, prescriptions and treatments— both chemical and 

 nonchemical— we have a number of choices. Most citizens prefer 

 private physicians who practice in local communities. Others, especially 

 the more affluent, travel great distances to university medical centers 

 and world renowned clinics for advice and treatment. Still others 

 use county health facilities and company operated clinics. County 

 nurses provide valuable services and education in the area of preventive 

 health care. 



The parallel situation in agriculture occurs when the more successful, 

 usually large and affluent farmers, frequently travel great distances 

 to university centers and research stations for consultation with Extension 

 specialists or researchers to obtain the latest and most sophisticated 

 assistance possible. However, most farmers rely on advice and coun- 

 seling that is provided through their local county agricultural Extension 

 office. 



As in human medicine, a growing number of qualified private consul- 

 tants and service firms and cooperatives provide pest management 

 services, usually on a fee basis. This type of private sector enterprise 

 must be encouraged and expanded so that it will become a major source 

 of IPM advice and service. Today, their numbers are inadequate to 

 meet the needs of farmers and home gardeners. 



Because there are so few private and public pest management advisors, 

 our agricultural system has depended heavily on the great number 

 of pesticide industry sales and technical representatives, who are 

 familiar with pests and the performance of their proprietary pesticides, 

 to advise farmers on controlling pests. This has been a free service 

 but it has been oriented almost exclusively to the use of a company's 

 proprietary products. Objectivity can be questioned when a salesman 

 recommends his proprietary chemical. However, few salesmen would 



