In 1962, the State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors recognized the needs of growers and requested the then US Department of Agriculture’ s Cooperative State Research Service (CSRS) to initiate an interregional research project that would coordinate the agricultural community’ s efforts, and assist growers in obtaining registrations of agricultural products for minor-use needs. The project, known as IR-4, was established in 1963, and has developed into a program that involves the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), State Agricultural Experiment Sta tions (SAES), the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Ser vice (CSREES), agricultural chemical companies, commodity organizations, and individual growers located from Puerto Rico to Hawaii