There might be at least one silver lining in the rain clouds that have plagued farmers trying to seed their crops in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
The lush grass brought on by the rampant rains could keep grasshoppers from devouring farmers’ fields. The abundance of forage in ditches and along the edges of fields will offer an incentive for the pests to stay out of crops, said Grant McLean, extension agrologist with Saskatchewan Agriculture.
Torrents of rain kept farmers off the fields in southeastern Saskatchewan and parts of Manitoba for much of May. The wet weather delayed the grasshopper hatch, but the six-legged predators are starting to emerge.
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Earlier this spring, Manitoba and Saskatchewan’s agriculture departments warned farmers that there would be hot spots of grasshopper infestations this year. The wet weather has lessened that threat, but the risk remains.
If the weather turns hot and dry in June, the abundance of forage in ditches and along field edges will diminish. That may force the hoppers to find their food in farmers’ fields.
John Gavloski, an entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, suspects the wet weather has taken a toll on unhatched eggs. But that effect will be modest, he said.
“I don’t think things will change dramatically, but it could slow them down a little bit.”
Scott Hartley was more optimistic. An insect specialist for Saskatchewan Agriculture, Hartley hopes the cool, wet weather will increase diseases among the grasshoppers once they emerge.
“It should change it quite a bit,” he said of the grasshopper outlook. “I think it’s a safe guess to think they have at least been held back.”
At this time of year, however, farmers have little time to ponder what perils the grasshoppers may pose. Those affected by an overdose of rain have an even greater concern on their minds.
“People are worrying about whether they’ll even have a crop,” McLean said.
