08/12/2025
We love watching the monarchs migrate through our farm in mid-September!
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Fall is approaching, which means eastern monarch butterflies will be on the move! Beginning mid-August, monarchs will migrate from their breeding locations to Florida or Mexico to overwinter, traveling up to 100 miles a day. Monarchs only migrate once in their life, so even though a butterfly hasn't been to its overwintering spot before, it can still navigate to the same forests that previous generations used.
You can help migrating monarchs by planting native plants that bloom in late summer and early fall like goldenrods or asters, providing shallow water sources, and providing shelter like dead trees or leaf litter.
Farmers can also provide crucial support for monarchs and other pollinators by implementing various conservation practices, like buffer strips, planting milkweed, and integrated pest management. Even crops and cover crops like alfalfa and red clover are great nectar plants for monarchs! If you're a farmer and are interested in incorporating practices to benefit pollinators, we can help you navigate some funding programs!
Working Lands for Monarch Butterflies:
https://nrcs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=8c9b052d51214cc3b6742a4ddf0a98cc
Farmers for Monarchs:
https://farmersformonarchs.org/what-farmers-and-landowners-can-do-this-fall-for-pollinators/
Other sources:
https://xerces.org/blog/5-monarch-migration-facts
Photo credit: Florida Museum