Idaho In Action / Regulated and Invasive Insect Pest/ Additional Info

The Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS)
Program in Idaho Agriculture

The Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Program (CAPS) is a federal program coordinated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) in collaboration with state departments of agriculture, universities and other entities. The CAPS Program provides funding and support for the state partners to conduct science-based surveys for exotic plant pests, diseases and weeds that have been identified as threats to U.S. agriculture and facilitates early detection, rapid response and management actions needed to address introduced pests that threaten US agricultural and natural ecosystems.

For many years, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) has partnered with the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) program to protect Idaho agriculture from the introduction of high-risk invasive pests that could harm crops, forests, and export activities. Each year, ISDA enters into cooperative agreements with USDA APHIS PPQ to secure funding for invasive pest detection. Surveys conducted through the CAPS Program in Idaho’s fields, forests, plant nurseries, and urban areas serve as a vital line of defense against the entry and establishment of new harmful plant pests and weeds.

corn commodity SURVEY

Corn is a major agronomic crop in Idaho. The USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service reported 375,000 acres of corn was harvested in the state in 2024, to be used for grain and silage. Because it offers a long growing season and an arid climate that reduces the incidence of foliar diseases, Idaho’s true specialty lies in hybrid sweet corn seed varieties. It is a leading global producer, growing approximately 65-70% of the world's hybrid temperate sweet corn seed. In 1998, Idaho ranked sixth in the U.S. for total sweet corn production. In 2023 Idaho’s sweet corn harvest was estimated at 128,700 tons. In addition, Idaho sweet corn seed companies export to U.S. and international markets, making phytosanitary issues and data on freedom from exotic insects and pathogens of vital concern to this segment of the corn industry.

A complex of established insect pests on corn exists in Idaho which contains, among others, wireworms, corn rootworms, two species of armyworms, corn earworm, several types of cutworms, grasshoppers, aphids, false chinch bugs, thrips and European earwigs.

In 2026, ISDA will conduct a trapping survey in 100 corn fields across 11 counties: Ada, Canyon, Cassia, Elmore, Gem, Gooding, Minidoka, Owyhee, Payette, Twin Falls, and Washington. The main pests of concern are False Codling Moth and Silver Y Moth. Traps will be set out in early June and checked every two weeks by ISDA field staff. 

ISDA will also conduct two visual surveys in the same corn fields where trapping is taking place, targeting Cucurbit Beetle and Late wilt on Corn. The first visual survey will occur in June, and the final one will take place between July and August. The entire survey effort will span approximately three months. These activities reflect ISDA’s ongoing commitment to early detection and management of invasive pests in Idaho’s grain fields.

Small grain COMMODITY SURVEY

Wheat, grown in 42 of Idaho’s 44 counties, is the No. 5 crop in Idaho in terms of total farm-gate revenue with its largest production areas in the eastern part of the state and the north central Palouse region. In 2023 Idaho ranked 6th nationally for wheat and wheat product exports. In 2024, Idaho farmers harvested approximately 1.1 million acres of wheat, which produced 89 million bushels of spring wheat and 89 million bushels of winter wheat with a combined production value of $566 million.

The success of the Idaho wheat industry depends greatly on its ability to export product to external markets, including the Asian market where a significant amount of the soft white wheat grown in the state is used in pastry and noodle making. Wheat production in Idaho creates jobs and income, not only in the production process but also in the transportation, storage and input supply industries as well as by flour milling and malt processing in the state. On wheat, like all agricultural crops, a complex of established insect pests exists in Idaho which contains, among others, Hessian fly, wheat curl mite, a complex of six species of aphids, cereal leaf beetle, wheat stem sawfly, grasshoppers, plant bugs, wheat headworm, wheat jointworm, wheat strawworm, wheat stem maggot, wireworms, and army cutworm.

In 2026, ISDA will conduct a trapping survey in 100 grain fields across 17 counties: Ada, Bingham, Bonneville, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Elmore, Gem, Idaho, Jefferson, Latah, Madison, Minidoka, Owyhee, Payette, Power, and Twin Falls. The main pests of concern are Old World Bollworm and Small Brown Planthopper. Traps will be set out in early May and checked every two weeks by ISDA field staff.

ISDA will also conduct two visual surveys in the same grain fields where trapping is taking place, targeting Terrestrial Snails and Slugs and Wheat Blast. The first visual survey will occur in June, and the final one will take place between July and August. The entire survey effort will span approximately three months. These activities reflect ISDA’s ongoing commitment to early detection and management of invasive pests in Idaho’s grain fields.

KARNAL BUNT SURVEY

Wheat, grown in 42 of Idaho’s 44 counties, is the No. 5 crop in Idaho in terms of total farm-gate revenue with its largest production areas in the eastern part of the state and the north central Palouse region. In 2023 Idaho ranked 6th nationally for wheat and wheat product exports. In 2024, Idaho farmers harvested approximately 1.1 million acres of wheat, which produced 89 million bushels of spring wheat and 89 million bushels of winter wheat with a combined production value of $566 million.

The success of the Idaho wheat industry depends on its ability to export product to external markets, including the Asian market where a significant amount of the soft white wheat grown in the state is used in pastry and noodle making. The occurrence of Karnal Bunt (KB), a seed-borne fungal disease that was first identified in India in 1931, would adversely impact the state's export markets and give rise to major regulatory actions. Karnal Bunt was detected in the United States in March 1996 in durum wheat seed by the Arizona Department of Agriculture. A KB-free designation for the state of Idaho's wheat crop is critical to the industry's well-being since a high percentage of the wheat from Idaho is shipped or distributed to export markets, and many countries have a zero tolerance for KB in import shipments.

During 2026, ISDA inspectors plan to collect 60 grain samples from the following 19 counties: Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Blaine, Boundary, Canyon, Cassia, Clearwater, Elmore, Fremont, Jefferson, Lincoln, Lewis, Madison, Nez Perce, Owyhee, Power, Teton, and Washington.

Sampling will start when grain harvest begins (typically in mid-July) and finishes by October. The samples will be tested by USDA for the presence of KB.