ISU Inviting Iowa Farmers To Get Pest Alert Messages

(Ames, IA) -- Iowa State Extension is inviting farmers to take advantage of a free pest notification service.

The Iowa Pest Alert Network sends text message to farmers and others agriculture, providing timely scouting information about pests.

The website provides links to information about key pests in the Midwest, degree day mapping, regional updates and supplemental publications. There is also an archive listing of past pest alerts.

All a user needs is a cell phone number. Sign up by visiting the Pest Alert Network website, at https://pestalerts.extension.iastate.edu.

“A needs assessment published by the North Central Soybean Research Program in 2021 determined that farmers and the industry are really interested in receiving real-time alerts about pests,” said Ashley Dean, extension specialist in entomology with ISU Extension and Outreach. “Farmers and the people who advise them are often out in the fields during the day, so text messages might be more efficient than emails.”

The user can customize the service.

“These short bursts of information are meant to reach people wherever they are, and they can use links in the alerts to access relevant scouting information,” said Erin Hodgson, professor and extension entomologist at Iowa State.