Hopper Horror
While environmentalists blame production agriculture for destroying habitat trust me they’ll be on their knees begging for pesticides when they see the carnage that one little critter could reap this summer throughout our Western states. I’m Susan Allen your host of OpenRange, stay tune for more. There is a battle of wills occurring in many places out west. Despite the threat of West Nile greenie groups are opposing any use of pesticides to combat mosquito infestation. They’ll rethink this logic when the hoppers arrive. Conditions are perfect for the biggest grasshopper invasion western states have seen since 1985. Not only will swarms of grasshoppers destroy millions of dollars of crops, gobble fences and even paint off barns and houses they will ravage millions of acres of wild life habitat. Recently one Wyoming rancher Ryan Fieldgrove told a Wall Street Journal reporter that last year hordes of grasshoppers invaded his ranch seemingly overnight. In three weeks they had devoured every blade of grass on 10,000 acres not to mention all the landscaping. States like Wyoming are begging for federal funding from Mr. Green Jeans, ie, Ag Secretary Tom Vislack to aerially spray the pesticide Dimilin to kill maturing hoppers but have been told money has run out, How can that be in an administration that’s doling out handouts right and left? The only hope left for IdahoMontana and Wyoming would be a cold spell this spring to kill the baby grasshoppers. I’m Susan Allen