News Update

News Update
May 8, 2006

2007 Farm Bill risk-management paper released

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today released a risk-management analysis paper, the first in a series of 41 papers intended to provide factual information and continue the national discussion about best policy approaches in preparation for the 2007 Farm Bill. Johanns discussed the paper today at the United Produce Show and announced that the next subject for analysis will be conservation.

The paper is based on more than 4,000 comments received from 52 Farm Bill forums across the nation. It describes the risks agricultural producers face, the effectiveness of current options available to producers through the private sector and the government to mitigate risks on farm operations, issues related to the performance of current programs, and concludes with a discussion of program alternatives.

The risk management paper is available at www.usda.gov.

Prepare for grasshopper infestations

Nebraskans again need to prepare for potentially large grasshopper populations this spring and summer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) entomologists say. High numbers of adult grasshoppers last year mean there is significant concern for economically damaging populations developing this year, said Gary Hein, entomologist at UNL’s Panhandle Research and Extension Center at Scottsbluff.

The 2006 Rangeland Grasshopper Hazard Map, prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), indicates large areas of Nebraska’s central and southwest rangeland are at the highest risk for grasshopper infestations. The map also shows other areas in the western U.S. where adult grasshopper numbers last year would warrant significant concern for developing economically damaging populations this year.

Weather conditions will play a big part in this year’s numbers, as it did last year, Hein said. Cool, wet conditions have a negative effect on young grasshopper survival. However, since grasshoppers hatch over an extended period of time, only a portion of the grasshopper hatch may be affected. In addition, good moisture during the spring and summer can allow enough grass growth to offset the grasshopper feeding damage.

If serious infestations do develop this year, control may need to be considered, said Jack Campbell, entomologist at UNL’s West Central Research and Extension Center at North Platte.

“Ranchers should monitor the buildup of grasshopper densities in high-risk areas beginning at early hatch in late May and into mid- to late June,” Hein said. “As we saw last year, the damage potential from grasshopper populations will be modified by the environmental conditions we experience. The greatest risk will result if conditions are warm and dry during the grasshopper hatching period.”

For more information about grasshoppers and their control, visit http://entomology.unl.edu/grasshoppers or http://cropwatch.unl.edu/archives/2006/crop7/grasshoppers.htm.

— adapted from a UNL press release