| DALLAS—
Millions of grasshoppers are costing farmers and ranchers
nearly $200 million in Texas alone this year as they devour
valuable ranch and farmland.
"It's
probably hit the hay producers and cattlemen the hardest.
We've had pastures and hay fields consumed by grasshoppers,"
said entomologist Dr. Allen Knutson of Texas A&M University.
The
pests eat just about any kind of leafy green vegetation,
and thrive in warm dry weather, something the Southwest
has had plenty of during this blazing hot summer.
"They've
multiplied over the last two years because the conditions
have been favorable for high reproduction," said
Eddie Baggs, an agricultural extension agent. "They'll
lay anywhere from three to 500 eggs each, and with favorable
conditions most of those will hatch."
Oklahoma
and Texas have been hit hardest. New Mexico, Louisiana
and Arkansas have also been affected.
Farmers
can use expensive chemicals to slow the grasshoppers down,
but the only really effective solution is natural.
"We're
going to have to have some winter. Somehow, somewhere
we're going to have to have some winter and some spring
rains to control these grasshoppers naturally, because
it's just a continuing war," said Baggs.
Some
scientists say this is the worst infestation of grasshoppers
in 30 years and until the first frost stops them, they'll
just continue eating up crops and profits.
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