Photo by Friedrich Haag via Wikicommons
The Department of Pesticide Regulation shared this about the award: Gina Bella Colfer, a pest control advisor (PCA) with more than 30 years of experience in organic agriculture, primarily on California’s Central Coast, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work developing and implementing safer, more sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) practices in agriculture.
The Lifetime IPM Achievement Award recognizes individuals with 20 or more years of research, professional practice, or outreach in IPM-related sectors.
Colfer spent more than 15 years honing her IPM-centered pest management recommendations as the in-house PCA and agronomist for one of the largest leafy greens producers on the West Coast. She is currently the sustainable solutions manager for Wilbur Ellis, a global agricultural product and chemical company, where she works to build the company’s organics program and help growers maintain healthy soils and reduce synthetic inputs.
Colfer is a highly regarded pest management expert who developed a “whole systems approach” that combines many organic strategies with the goals of supporting healthy soils, reducing pest issues, decreasing the use of pesticides, protecting the environment and pesticide handlers, and reducing the overall cost of pest management.