Recent history has demonstrated that cash grain producers can take nothing for granted when it comes to counting on favorable weather. The variability in our weather often makes us wonder, how is this possible? When Grandpa tells you “I remember back in ‘62, now that was a perfect year!” You may want to check his medication. So called “normal weather years” may indeed be something we have envisioned only in a dream (the best definition of a normal year may be to average the past 20 years together!). The harsh reality of working with Mother Nature is that she only allows us to think that we are in control. This past year was no exception. Weather extremes were not only state to state or county to county, but on a township to township level. With weather extremes comes crop stress in the form of poor seedling establishment and growth, inconsistent herbicide performance (and difficult application timing), pollenation concerns, drought anxiety, soil compaction, harvestability problems, etc. These elements are only further confounded by the presence of pests, whether it be weeds, diseases or insects. Recent warmer winters and hot, dry summers have only accelerated the onslaught of insect damage to our crops.