For exceptional work in developing automated weather instruments and software to forecast disease and insect pests and reduce pesticide use, John Leggett, of Canterbury, N.H., received an Excellence in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Award from the New York State IPM Program at Cornell, Feb. 13.

"Before John got involved, I would go to cooperating farms to retrieve the data, then enter it into my calculator by hand," said Carol MacNeil, a Cornell Cooperative Extension specialist in vegetables. "Now I can get the data from dozens of sites online."

Leggett's instruments not only are affordable but stand up to such obstacles as storms, lightening and even being bumped by tractors.