From 18 to 3: North Dakota's success story pushing back against Palmer amaranth

"I would call it a success story, where probably in about 15 counties we've totally eliminated it. It's actually been pretty quiet on the Palmer front in the last couple years. This is a rare outcome in the realm of weed resistance management."

"Recognizing the severe threat posed by a weed resistant to many modes of action, they adopted a strategy of early detection, rapid response—a framework borrowed from forest fire management. Extensive efforts were made to educate growers, county agents, and agronomists on how to correctly identify the weed."

"Once a plant was identified, teams including growers and crop consultants would immediately go to the field to physically remove the plants. The primary goal was to prevent the weed from setting seed or going through a combine."

North Dakota achieved a rare success in herbicide-resistant weed management by containing Palmer amaranth, one of North America's most problematic weeds. After the weed first appeared in 2018 and spread to 18 counties over several years, state officials implemented an early detection and rapid response strategy borrowed from forest fire management. Through extensive education efforts to identify the weed and coordinated physical removal by growers and crop consultants, Palmer amaranth was completely eliminated from approximately 15 counties. As of winter, only three counties maintain known populations, primarily in areas where cattle spread contaminated sunflower screenings. Even in these remaining locations, growers have suppression plans to prevent further spread.

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