Dr. Phil Harein Honored at Minnesota Conference

MINNEAPOLIS — Featuring topics ranging from “How I Built My Business” to “Keeping the Bugs Out of Nature,” the 2007 Minnesota Structural Pest Management Conference and the Minnesota Food Processing Pest Management Conference were held in tandem at the Minneapolis Convention Center in mid-March.

In addition to providing educational and recertification opportunities for pest management professionals, the conferences included a special recognition of Dr. Phil Harein, to whom the event was dedicated. Harein was recognized for his years of service to the pest management industry and for his achievements in research and extension in the fields of stored product and structural entomology.

With time built-in for networking and supplier exhibits, including morning coffee, break periods and a provided lunch, attendees were able to interact with peers while gaining information needed for renewal of state certifications. Structural conference sessions focused on specific pests including rodents, carpenter ants, occasional invaders, spiders, stinging insects, bed bugs, structure-infesting ants, springtails, wildlife and wood-destroying insects, as well as special sessions for fumigation, right-of-way endorsement, landscape endorsement, and an insect identification workshop. The Food Plant conference focused on rodents, foreign grain beetles, wasps, cockroaches and occasional invaders, as well as biosecurity and bird-flu preparedness, organic pest management, program result assessment, pheromone and light-trap use and a fumigation session.

Conference registrars estimated attendance for the Structural sessions at 600 participants with approximately 60 attending the Food Processing portion. The conference planning committee included representatives from local pest management companies and food plants, the Minnesota Pest Management Association, Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the University of Minnesota, which coordinated the recertification workshops through its Extension Service.