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South Dakota: Grasshopper control meeting set for April 7 in Philip

BROOKINGS, SD – Staff from the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service and the USDA will host an April 7 meeting focused on grasshopper control.

The meeting runs from 5-9 p.m. at the Steak House in Philip. The meeting is free and includes a meal. To ensure a proper count for the event, call the Haakon County Extension office at 605-859-2840 before April 4 to register. Or call your county Extension office and they can relay your registration for you.

The primary focus of the meeting is viable options for grasshopper control in western South Dakota. A range of speakers will share information on this pest that can affect both farmland and rangeland.



The meeting begins with a meal and registration, and then Haakon/Jackson County Extension Livestock Educator Adele Harty will introduce the speakers. They include Amy Mesman and Bruce Helbig from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). They will share information on past grasshopper outbreaks and relate this history to threats ranchers and farmers may face in 2011.

Extension Range Management Specialist Roger Gates will present information on how livestock producers can plan grazing to minimize grasshopper impacts. After a break, Extension Agronomy Educator Bob Fanning from Lyman County will explain chemical control options for grasshoppers along with biological control alternatives.



Mesman and Helbig will speak a second time to explain assistance programs available for producers. Mike Stenson, weed and pest control specialist with the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, also will explain programs that producers can use to reduce grasshopper issues this year. Organizers have allowed ample time for questions and conversation with all speakers during the event and encourage all producers who may face problems with grasshoppers in 2011 to attend this event.

In addition to the USDA’s APHIS and the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service, the Badlands Resources Conservation and Development Association is sponsoring the event.