Pests pose a constant threat, and that includes grasshoppers and crickets. The Farm Bureau is warning that while swarms are not as bad as history would recall, they still are a costly problem for farmers.
Grasshopper infestations are a real problem for some growers, with damage being in the tens of millions of dollars. Last year, more than $300 million worth of damage was done to alfalfa crops. The Farm Bureau says this level of harm is detrimental to farms already operating on razor thin margins. It is also a burden on the crop insurance system.
Nearly $8 million was paid out last year to growers in Montana because of grasshoppers.
