Armadillo Migration Poses Threat to Illinois – that’s right Armadillo!

Apr 27, 2023

Thanks to climate change, digging Armadillos are threatening crops in Illinois. Conservation biologist Anant Deshwal and his team at Bradley University are warning of the potential threat posed by armadillos to agriculture in central Illinois. With climate trends leading to warmer and wetter weather in the region, armadillos are moving northward and have been sighted more frequently in the area.

While armadillos have lived in southern Illinois for years, they are now moving into central Illinois, where they can cause significant soil damage with their digging. The animals forage for food and breed by digging holes, and use these burrows to escape the winter cold.

Deshwal's lab is studying armadillo migration patterns in the state and the potential impact on crop yields in the future. His team has attempted to brainstorm solutions to curtail the northward spread of the animals, but Deshwal ultimately believes that the best solution is mitigating climate change in general.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is asking the public to report armadillo sightings north of the Springfield area.

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Border View Farms is a mid-sized family farm that sits on the Ohio-Michigan border. My name is Nathan. I make and edit all of the videos posted here. I farm with my dad, Mark and uncle, Phil. Our part-time employee, Brock, also helps with the filming. 1980 was our first year in Waldron where our main farm is now. Since then we have grown the operation from just a couple hundred acres to over 3,000. Watch my 500th video for a history of our farm I filmed with my dad.

I started making these videos in the fall of 2019 as a way to help show what I do on a daily basis as a farmer. Agriculture is different from any other industry and I believe the more people that are showing their small piece of agriculture, helps to build our story. We face unique challenges and stressful situations but have some of the most rewarding payoffs in the end. I get to spend everyday doing what I love, raising my kids on the farm, and trying to push our farm to be better every year. I hope that I can address questions or concerns that you might have about farms and agriculture.