Hungry grasshoppers threaten cows
Every year grasshoppers raid ranches and farms across the West, but this year threatens to see the worst infestation since 1985. Swarms of grasshoppers devour everything from grazing land to crops to the paint off of the sides of barns. The results are expensive for the land owners and the USDA, which has already spent its $5.6 million grasshopper budget on counting the insect population last fall.
For more on how this affects the ranchers, we’re joined by Tom Hougen, president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association and owner of the Hougan ranch in Melstone, Mont.
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