At Granite Belt IPM we promote invertebrate biodiversity in cropping ecosystems as a gateway to crop health.
We are passionate about the benefits biodiversity can bring to agroecosystems and finding the balance between rural productivity and the environmental legacy we leave our children. Moving towards an integrated approach to pest management and away from an over-reliance on synthetic insecticides can foster a robust, diverse ecosystem that can improve crop health and reduce the need for chemical interventions.
Our aim is to convince the conventional farming industry to re-think their pest management systems, to reduce the millions of tons of pesticides pumped into the world’s food bowl annually. We use hard science, our specialist knowledge of insect agro-ecology and our experience in commercial IPM consulting to connect the diverse elements of IPM into a single narrative.
Passion meets practicality in a way that’s easy to understand and can be applied at your farm today.
Services Backed by Science
IPM Services
At Granite Belt IPM we specialise in developing integrated pest management systems for growers looking to jump off the insecticide treadmill
Engagements/ Presentations/ Extension
We believe that ‘People Remember Stories’ and are dedicated to presenting the often-bewildering IPM landscape in an easy-to-understand narrative.
Ecological/ Environmental services
Our passion is insect ecology and outside of horticulture, we provide entomological services in a diverse range of ecological niches, from coral cays to rainforest and temperate woodlands.
Media
Talkin' After Hours Podcasts with the Lower Blackwood LCDC
We sit down with the team at Lower Blackwood LCDC and discuss the broader issues with chemical pest management systems in agriculture, here in Australia and around the world. We focus on the global collapse of insect populations, what’s causing it, why we should care, and we begin to unpack what a greener future may look like.
Listen below:
Protecting pisonia forests on Great Barrier Reef islands
In 2023 and 2024, Granite Belt IPM worked with Aestra as a part of a larger project to assess the ecosystem health of islands and coral cays in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. As the consultant entomologist, our role was to assess the presence of invertebrate threats to the stands of Pisonia grandis forests on selected islands. We worked closely with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GRMPA) and Aestra, as well as with indigenous ranger groups who provided a cultural perspective and balance to our western science approach.
Featured Blog
‘pIPMing’ Your Farm: It’s easier than you think!
By Dr Anthony Rice, Insect Ecologist and IPM Consultant
Insects are under threat globally, and without insects, ecosystems collapse and our food webs will no longer support us. Insecticides are recognised as key drivers for invertebrate decline all over the world and yet their industrial-scale over-use on has become normalised in our conventional food production systems.
The relatively new (1990's) neonicotine insecticides are up to 10 000 more toxic to insects than anything we have made before, but the way we use them, and measure them, hasn't kept up with the challenges that brings. These insecticides are also highly persistent in the soil, highly mobile in water and are used globally every year in sufficient quantities to kill every terrestrial arthropod on Earth hundreds of times over. This is not a cost of doing business of growing enough food. The science is clear, we do not need them, especially as seed treatments which is what most are used for. Despite this, the global market for neonicotine insecticides is expected to grow by 5.4% annually, and by 2032 be worth over $8bn. Are we mad? Can IPM help save us?
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