Many news stories recently have been about MRSA, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a potentially deadly bacterium that is resistant to almost all common antibiotics. The experts say it got that way through the over use of antibiotics, often when they were not really needed.

In agriculture we are also dealing with resistant pests such as; rotation resistant rootworm, herbicide resistant waterhemp and herbicide resistant giant ragweed. Some of these weeds have populations that are resistant to four different classes of herbicides.

One of the most disturbing trends in agriculture is the use of pest control technology whether or not the pest is present. It is not that farmers are ignoring good stewardship practices, but they are being pushed there by a lack of choices, information and a fear of losing competitive advantage. If you look at the University of Illinois Variety Trial results for this last year the implications are almost shocking. Ninety-three percent of the corn hybrids in the East-Central Region report had a seed treatment containing a neonicitinoid insecticide. This is a relatively new class of systemic insecticide. The familiar names of Poncho and Cruiser are in this class. These seed treatments are normally a low-rate application, a strategy that is often listed as dangerous for resistance development.

Over 75% of the hybrids were Roundup Ready and over 85% had Roundup Ready, LibertyLink or both. In systems with continuous Roundup Ready corn or rotated with Roundup Ready soybeans the recipe for Roundup resistant weeds is being served.

If you look at the top 20 hybrids in these results 17 are triple stacks with rootworm, corn borer and Roundup Ready. The other are doubles with one insect trait and Roundup Ready. Trying to pick a competitive hybrid to plant on your refuge acres is a challenge. If you accept that your refuge acres aren't going to be top and are willing to accept above average you can expand your search down the list. Your options still don't improve much only 2 hybrids that yielded above average in the East Central regional hybrid trials did not have any insect control traits. These trends do not bode well for effective pest management.