Eliminating farm pests

Pest problems might seem inevitable to most farmers, yet in natural landscapes pest outbreaks are uncommon. That's because pests thrive in farming systems that are highly disturbed, grow a small number of crops, and have low plant and insect diversity—it's like your farm is a buffet and there's no line to get in. But in natural environments pests generally can't get to an outbreak level because they have to compete with so many other species for limited resources. Thinking of pests as a sign of ecological imbalances on the farm rather than as a fact of life points the way to sustainable solutions that reduce pest pressures by strengthening natural relationships throughout the farm.