Pesticide use does vary considerably  here year to year. 

This year soybeans had lots of spider mites and the spray of choice was Lorsban over 
Warrior for just aphids. 

At least in Mn we don't see the kinds of frequent pesticide kills Bob speaks of. Corn 
acreage is far more then anything else and except for sweet corn most of it does not get 
sprayed with an insecticide anymore as gmo and seed treatments are the norm. 

As an apple grower who is working 2200 trees, I can't understand why anyone would 
spray an insecticide on an apple bloom. There is no fruit to protect from insects at that 
time of the season. Scab a fungus, is the most likely reason to spray in bloom and 
products like Captan, Nova or Sovram would the fungicides used up here. But as scab is 
generated by rain in a dry year like this year the smart growers left the sprayer in the 
shed during bloom. We never had a scab season here this year it was so dry. I trusted 
the scab reports from UM and came out looking like a rose.

In my experience 90% of the spray issues affecting the pollinators could be solved by 
increased education of growers. Too many of them have no clue what they are spraying 
for and why or when. They rely on the local supply house who are pimps for the chemical 
companies. Most growers just feel better when the spray comes out. MAkes them nervous 
to run without spray and trust an IPM plan. 

I finished out my season with 2200 apple tree with 2 or 3 sprays in late May and June. 
Ran the whole summer with nothing. My IPM traps showed no activity. My total chem bill 
without herbicides was under $300 as I use below the label rate also. Yet I can drive 
down the road and talk to other growers with same tree numbers who dropped $3-5K. 
There is not much difference in our fruit quality either. This was an exceptional season 
with low temps and little moisture so the apple pests never got going. But my point is the 
foolish growers who plowed ahead and sprayed anyhow for the feel good effect. 

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