Busting the Myths of the Holiday Season

Dec 16, 2022

Christmas trees, pickles, Boxing Day and Cola: watch next week’s Seed Speaks and bust some Christmas myths!

On Dec. 21, the Seed Speaks crew will gather for a special holiday episode where they’ll bust some big myths about the holidays, namely:

You should get a fake Christmas tree because cutting down real trees is bad for the environment. The Nature Conservancy notes that real trees don’t require the intensive carbon emissions that it takes to produce and ship artificial trees. Also, buying real trees will help keep tree farms in business, and in turn keep their lands covered in the healthy forest habitat that wildlife depends on to survive.
The modern legend of Santa was created by Coca-Cola. According to the soda pop company itself, Coca-Cola didn’t create the legend of Santa Claus, but Coca-Cola advertising did play a big role in shaping the jolly character we know today.

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Video: Dr. Fei Yang Discusses Corn Rootworm, European Corn Borer, and Pest Monitoring

What insect threats are Minnesota corn growers facing, and what research is helping farmers stay ahead of them?

At the 2026 MN Ag Expo, University of Minnesota entomologist Fei Yang shared updates on three Minnesota Corn-supported research projects focused on insect monitoring, seed treatments, and pest resistance.

Current work includes statewide monitoring programs that use pheromone, light, and sticky traps to track key pests such as black cutworm, true armyworm, corn earworm, European corn borer, and corn rootworm. Researchers are also evaluating whether high-rate seed treatments provide effective corn rootworm control and studying the development of resistance in European corn borer populations to Bt corn traits.

These projects help researchers better understand pest pressures across Minnesota and provide farmers with practical information to support informed management decisions.