As Wisconsin fields enter dormancy, it's time to analyze the past season's pest pressures to inform planting and management strategies for 2026. While 2025 was largely an "uneventful insect year," one pest, armyworm, caused significant problems during its second generational flight.

Emily Bick, an entomologist and Extension Specialist for field and forage crops, notes that the initial true armyworm flight from the south was minor because crops were not yet established. However, the subsequent generation found ideal conditions.

“We were really hit with a massive, massive true armyworm population,” she tells Mid-West Farm Report.