Why Farmers Are Bracing for an Insect InvasionWhen a massive swarm of grasshoppers ravaged over 100,000 acres of grass pastures and rangeland in the state’s northeast three years ago, Mike McKoen sympathized with the cattle ranchers who faced significant financial losses. As a third-generation farmer, McKoen didn’t worry much about his family farm, which grows onions, potatoes, and wheat.
“They don’t like onions,” an entomologist assured him, explaining that grasshoppers prefer non-irrigated drylands where cattle graze.
But last year, McKoen’s onions were attacked by swarms of grasshoppers. They chewed on the stalks, leaving holes that allowed irrigation water to seep in, causing fungal and bacterial diseases to spread. McKoen spent nearly $100,000 to save his crops.
Hundreds of farmers and ranchers lost significant portions of their crops, resulting in millions of dollars in damages, according to scientists and government officials.
Now, grasshoppers, capable of traveling long distances and decimating crops, are making another unwelcome appearance in the state’s far north. “The population of grasshoppers in the region has increased in size, scope, and density in recent years,” said Rob Wilson, a University of California Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resource advisor in Tulelake.
Wilson, a pest management specialist, attributes the increase in grasshoppers to drought and government policies limiting water allocation to farms, ranches, and wetlands.
By mid-July, thousands of grasshoppers take flight and can migrate several miles. In the fields, they are camouflaged and devour everything in their path. Outside, they become a daily nuisance, often crashing into people. McKoen’s family and other locals stay indoors to avoid them.
“Sometimes It’s Like Hail”Driving home from the ranch in the evenings, McKoen navigates slowly due to the multitude of grasshoppers crashing into his windshield and side windows, obstructing his view. “It’s like rice hitting your windshield,” he said. “Sometimes it’s like hail.”
Some farmers have lost up to 70% of their hay crops in past years, said Laura Snell, a University of California Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resource advisor in Modoc County, based in Alturas, a rural town near the Oregon border.
Grasshoppers can consume 30% to 250% of their body weight per day. “Thirty pounds of grasshoppers can eat the same amount of plants as a 600-pound cow per day,” Wilson explained.
“This Could Be Our Worst Year Yet”Officials in at least seven Western states have reported invasions of grasshoppers and Mormon crickets, another crop-destroying insect. Some of the most severely affected areas are in drought-stricken Northern California and eastern and central Oregon. The grasshopper surge adds additional pressure on Northern California beef producers and crop farmers.
Grasshoppers, which lay eggs in the fall and hatch by summer, particularly like to eat hay and grasses such as alfalfa, which many ranchers grow to feed their cattle. In response, many ranchers have reduced their herds due to grasshopper destruction of their feed, said Brian Ingraham, a fourth-generation cattle rancher in Modoc County.
“For 75 years we were always able to raise enough hay to feed the number of livestock we had,” he said. “The last three or five years, we’ve had to purchase,” which cuts into the ranch’s bottom line. Consequently, Ingraham has reduced his herd from 150 mother cows to 100.
High Beef PricesFewer mother cows mean fewer calves, leading to a decrease in cattle born to replace those going to market. If enough ranchers reduce their herds, beef inventory decreases throughout the supply chain, forcing prices to rise.
The latest Consumer Price Index report shows beef and veal prices in May up 5.7% compared to May 2023, with ground beef up 4.9%, beef roasts up 6%, and beef steaks up 5.7%.
High feed prices coupled with high interest rates have made cattle farming costly, prompting some cattle ranchers to reduce their herds or leave the business entirely. Currently, cattle inventory is the smallest since the 1950s. Despite high beef prices, American demand for beef remains strong, leading to even higher prices due to low supply.
It’s challenging to calculate the exact impact of grasshopper destruction on beef prices, Wilson noted. “Beef prices are up in general,” he said. “And if you just look West-wide, [beef] cattle numbers are way down due to the drought and other issues. The grasshoppers are just another factor that puts a strain on the beef producer and does increase prices.”
Beef from the region reaches dinner tables across the nation, including Los Angeles, said Carolyn Carey, a California Beef Council board member.
Grasshopper damage to cattle feed is concerning, but fuel prices are currently a bigger pressure on cattle ranchers’ bottom lines, said Carey, who runs a cattle ranch near Alturas.
In the past, grasshoppers were a problem in dry fields and generally avoided irrigated lands. But that has changed, Wilson noted. Last year, grasshoppers traveled 10 to 20 miles into irrigated lands.
“You have farmers who have been dealing with drought water curtailment for the last five years,” he said. “They’ve really suffered from that, and then you add this biblical grasshopper deal? It’s been a little bit overwhelming.”
Since early April, Wilson has been scouting and monitoring grasshoppers near Tule Lake, an ancient lake threatened by years of drought. He found more than eight immature grasshoppers per square yard in over 50,000 acres he surveyed around the lake, surpassing the threshold that indicates economic damage.
“The numbers are quite alarming,” Wilson said. “In some cases, there are 20 to 30 nymphs per square yard. There’s potential for a lot of problems.”
Grasshoppers tend to be cyclical, but the region hadn’t seen significant problems until four years ago, Snell said. A series of drought years created ideal nursery grounds for grasshoppers, which thrive in dry conditions. They’re vulnerable to natural fungi and diseases in humid and wetter environments.
“But when it’s dry, those natural barriers that prevent them from becoming a problem aren’t there,” Snell said.
Seeking SolutionsCounty officials, farm advisors, farmers, and ranchers have requested grasshopper treatments from the state. They’ve petitioned the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which runs an abatement program in several states and on federal lands, using treatments to kill the majority of grasshoppers while leaving enough for natural predators. APHIS also shares costs for treating private lands bordering federal lands.
Since 2021, the agricultural community in the region has been in discussions with APHIS about the need for grasshopper treatments in the affected counties.
Snell and Wilson said progress has been slow.
The Bugs ReturnModoc County Farm Bureau President Sean Curtis noted that California discontinued its abatement program over 50 years ago because grasshoppers ceased to be a significant issue until recently. Restoring the program has been challenging.
Several methods can prevent grasshopper proliferation, such as certain pesticides that can be sprayed during their infant stage. However, these chemicals are costly, and some argue they are ineffective unless every landowner participates.
“You need widespread treatment,” Ingraham argued. “If all the landowners aren’t doing it, they just move right on into the food source where we’ve already mitigated.”
Ingraham’s land borders other private and federal lands. He used to spray but stopped because the insecticides killed the grasshoppers on his land, but soon, grasshoppers from neighboring lands would fly in and eat his crops.
“It’s shooting ourselves in the foot, pouring money down the rat hole,” he said of treating his land with insecticides. “We’ll just take our licks as they come.”
