Dry weather brings plague of grasshoppers to Alberta
Saturday, July 11, 2015, 11:04 AM - To say it's been a rough month for some in Alberta would be an understatement.
While some in the province were fortunate enough to steer clear of the section ablaze with wildfires, farmers near High Prairie are dealing with a punishment of almost biblical nature: a plague of insects. Grasshoppers, to be exact. The worst farmer Grant
Gaschnitz has seen in the nearly 30 years he's been working the fields. "We've had them a couple of time as severe as what we've had them this year," Gaschnitz told CBC News.
The bugs aren't just a nuisance for farmers, quickly hopping under their feet with every step; but their above-average grazing of grass is leaving other animals up the food chain severely affected.
"They're eating pasture, they're eating the hay crops, and we just moved some cow-calf pairs to south of Valleyview because we have no pasture," he said.
Farmers like Gaschnitz are being forced to feed their animals resources that had been planned for the winter.
Many people in the area were already reporting harsh farming conditions with crops and pastures remaining parched throughout the season. What little green grass is left is quickly finished off by the growing population of grasshoppers.
"There are reports of more grasshoppers than have been seen for a few years all across the province," Scott Meers told CBC. Meers is an insect management specialist with Alberta Agriculture. "In those areas where there were lower numbers in previous years."
So why are there more grasshoppers this year? The hot, dry weather might be the answer. According to Meers, adult grasshoppers are reaching the "flight state" quickly due to the heat.
A little update on grasshopper timing. Clear-winged grasshopper (Camnula pelluida) in adult stage in So. Alberta. pic.twitter.com/wjDqowGDvT
— Dan Johnson (@DanJohnsonAB) July 1, 2015
While the province is not officially in a drought, many regions including High prairie are some of the driest
Rain is the solution for farmers like Gashcnitz.
"If we get some rain, a good two-inch rain, we could have some later fall pasture," he said. "It would put a dampener on their picnic."
Source: CBC
