By Filed Under: Crops, Iowa, News
Lance Lillibridge of Vinton in eastern Iowa says strong winds and heavy rootworm infestations are to blame for some downed corn late in the growing season.
“Rootworm pressure is really bad across the whole state, so really be watching those fields that have that pressure.”
Lillibridge currently serves as president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and tells Brownfield prior to this year, corn rootworm had not been an issue on his farm for quite a while.
“Then in 2020 we had that derecho come in and I don’t know if we blew in some bugs or what, but we just didn’t get out there and look at stuff. We didn’t scout because everything was down (so) it would’ve been hard to scout. We didn’t dig to check for rootworms, so I don’t know if maybe we became a little complacent.”
Lillibridge says he’s “bringing his ‘A’ game” for next year by switching up traits, genetics, and rotations.