Heat and drought aren't the only issues farmers in the drought-stricken North and West are dealing with. Grasshoppers are also destroying pasture grass and crops.
Jody Kerzman of AgDay affiliate KFYR in North Dakota spoke to Rhame, North Dakota producer Trevor Steeke, who has been chronicling the drought and now the grasshopper damage.
"In my 25 years of farming and ranching I've never seen anything like this," says Steeke. "They're eating it down to nothing. You can see my 300 acres of barley, all you can see is they've eaten it to the ground. There's nothing left."
In a normal year, Steeke would get 1500-3000 bales on a thousand acre field. This year, he got 53.
"It's going to be a tough year, a lot of tough decisions are going to have to be made," he adds.
Poster Comment:
Food prices are going up. Meat prices not until next year as the slaughter rate is high for now.
#1: DWornock To: Horse (#0)
DWornock posted on 2021-08-05 12:55:54 Reply Private Reply
#2: IRTorqued To: DWornock (#1)
IRTorqued posted on 2021-08-05 18:31:55 Reply Private Reply