Among the many challenges farmers in central Iowa have faced this growing season, one that has proven the biggest hinderance so far has been the pests.

ISU Extension Field Agronomist Meaghan Anderson says 2019 has essentially been the “Year of the Insect.” “So we have had some soybean fields that have reached levels of insect injuries that are just remarkable. (It’s) unlike anything myself or many of my colleagues have ever even seen, where they actually reach the treatment threshold with an insecticide. And that’s highly unusual in soybeans. So we had kind of the perfect storm this summer of late-planted soybeans, and a lot of insect pest pressure that just ended up causing a significant amount of damage. So hopefully those soybeans are on the mend now, and many of our insect pests are on their way out, we hope.”

Anderson says one of the biggest insect culprits this year was the thistle caterpillar, which grow into the painted lady butterflies. She points out that most people in central Iowa probably remember the period this summer where there were butterflies everywhere, which was a symptom of the overabundance of the caterpillars prior to that point. Anderson says the whole situation is a bit of a catch-22, as the butterflies are excellent pollinators, but the caterpillars are capable of decimating crops.

To hear more from Anderson about this and other agriculture topics, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.