Minnesota: Day of the Locusts

The rich farming areas of western Minnesota, still suffering the effects of last year’s drought, now have a plague to contend with: millions of crop- destroying grasshoppers are creating conditions reminiscent of the Dust Bowl 1930s.

Dry weather has prevented the germination of a fungus that kills the locusts’ eggs, enabling two particularly harmful species to hatch in overwhelming numbers. Since spring the hungry hordes have infested thousands of acres in 36 counties, chewing up wheat, corn, sugar beets and soybeans. Normally, fewer than ten locusts occupy the average square yard of land; crop damage begins when the number rises to about 30. This summer some Minnesota fields are aswarm with as many as 1,200 hoppers per sq. yd. Fields in the worst areas look as if they had been struck by hailstones.

State law requires control measures on infested property. But chemical spraying, the only real choice in some areas, disturbs environmentalists. They say the more effective pesticides can wipe out virtually all insects in an area and may also threaten drought-weakened wildlife. Organic farmers fear that the chemicals will taint their crops, shutting them out of a lucrative market. Yet if nothing is done soon, the problems could multiply: the maturing locusts are expected to lay more eggs in August.