MSU Blaine County Extension will be teaming up with USDA/APHIS to present a Grasshopper informational webinar and question and answer session with Gary D. Adams, State Plant Health Director, Montana APHIS on Wednesday, December 9th beginning at 5:00 PM. This meeting will take place virtually as well as in person. Limited in person attendance will take place at the Triple E Meeting Room in Chinook. Please call the Extension Office at357-3200 to RSVP to attend in person. To attend online, please call the Extension Office and we will send you log in information.

The purpose of the session will be to gather information on grasshopper infestation in Blaine County in 2020 as well as estimate what suppression efforts may look like in 2021. USDA/APHIS is tasked with conducting surveys to determine grasshopper infestation levels. In 2020, levels were extremely high. Limited funding to assist producers is a concern in 2021. USDA/APHIS is using the workshop and others like it to inform producers on how to monitor and what assistance that is available. These sessions will be used to gather information to try to get more funding for 2021.

From USDA/APHIS -

The number of requests for APHIS assistance with grasshopper suppression throughout Montana, Wyoming, and several other States was higher in 2020 than any year since the 2010. Supplemental funding was received by APHIS just prior to the 2020 and again mid-season season. Most of this funding does not carry over to the following year. Therefore, it will be important for APHIS to communicate now with interested parties to determine potential funding needs for the 2021 season. Those groups that can coordinate and communicate early will receive priority if funding is limited in 2021. Funding for cooperative treatments is provided on first-come first-served basis throughout the twenty-three western states that have traditionally had issues with rangeland grasshoppers. Montana is a northern state where grasshoppers emerge and develop later than warmer areas. If APHIS participation is requested by anyone in your area, it will be critical to initiate those conversations earlier, rather than later.

For more information on how to attend please contact Julianne Snedigar, MSU Blaine County Extension Agent at 357-3200. Please RSVP to attend by noon on Wednesday, December 9th.