Farmers are facing a battle on several fronts this summer, says agricultural fieldman for the M.D., Burt Forbes: the drought is back, grasshoppers look like they're winning with their dining—while international borders remain closed for beef exports. And diamond back moths are also causing grief in some canola crops.

Forbes says that a lot of farmers sprayed grasshoppers three or four times that allowed the crop to get a jump on the insects. But the hoppers have jumped back. “We’ve got more material (crop) out there so it looks like there is not as much damage but I think there are more hoppers” than last year. “There’s lots out there.”

The hoppers are now flying and “there are no borders for any of them anymore.”

High clearance machines and some aircraft are used to spray the hoppers with a variety of products including such brands names as Decis, Matador (which may be sold out because of high demand), Seven XLR and Lorsban. The liquid poisons used are from a concentrate. The poison is usually applied by field after each one is individually assessed.

But, now very few hoppers are being sprayed. “Unfortunately a lot of the farmers have sprayed so much they’ve just about given up.” He says some are running out of cash for the poison—and energy—and every day it gets hotter they are losing bushels of produce to the returning drought. “Heat is an issue right now.”