Palmer Amaranth; photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Palmer Amaranth, or pigweed, has found its way onto many farms around Iowa, and the House of Representatives recently passed a bill they believe is the first step to eliminating it.

House File 410 would add Palmer Amaranth to the noxious weed list, meaning it would need to be destroyed immediately upon discovery, or landowners risk incurring fines from the state. It would also make it illegal to import or sell pigweed in Iowa. The bill is now in the hands of the Senate, and if passed it would only need the governor’s approval to be signed into law. Representative Ralph Watts (R) compares Palmer Amaranth to another recent scourge of Iowa farmers.

“It was kind of related to us as similar to the damage that the avian flu did to the poultry industry a couple years ago. That the Palmer Amaranth could have that kind of devastation on the corn and soybean growers. So it was an important thing to do, and we classified that as a noxious weed so that we’d have resources to try to deal with that to keep it from spreading in Iowa.”

Watts added, pigweed has been placed on the noxious weed list in several other states and he feels it’s time for Iowa to follow suit. Palmer Amaranth is an edible flowering plant that is aggressive and invasive, and it has a tendency to crowd out cash crops. If the bill is signed into law, pigweed would become the 26th plant on the noxious weed list in Iowa.