‘A tough battle:’ Grasshoppers invade RM of Fertile Valley

A swarm of grasshoppers has blanketed the Rural Municipality of Fertile Valley, eating away at crops and trees.

Tree left in Fertile Valley without leaves. (Bill Thompson/Submitted)

Fertile Valley declared itself in an agricultural state of emergency Monday. As of Friday, there were 39 RMs in the province that had declared states of emergency.

Grasshoppers on farms in the community were the driving factor as to why the RM of Fertile Valley is in a state of emergency. The RM is about 100 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon.

“They were so bad in my area of the farm that they ate the leaves right off the caragana trees. You’d think it was winter,” said Bill Thompson, a councillor, farmer, cattle producer and grain operator from Fertile Valley.

“There was not a leaf left in the caragana tree. That’s how bad it is.”

Grasshoppers in the province have been recorded as almost double their normal size for this time of the year.

“My yard is just crawling with grasshoppers because they like it hot and dry. It was just perfect for them,” said Thompson.

“I personally sprayed up the grid roads and around but when you don’t get rain (and) you don’t get Mother Nature helping you, it’s a tough battle.”

Another farmer in the RM tweeted a video of the pests at work in one of her fields. She declined to be interviewed.

Invaded! Crop insurance wrote it off so we are cutting our wheat to make feed for the cows. What a year! #drought23 pic.twitter.com/PjJRJvvvTg

— Aaron (@ajspe) July 27, 2023

Grasshoppers litter the ground. (Bill Thompson/Submitted)

The decision to declare a state of emergency in the RM was made after a town hall meeting to discuss the drought and grasshoppers affecting the area.

“The moisture in this RM has been virtually very light; some got showers and some didn’t get any,” Thompson said. “When you add the combination of heat and wind and throw grasshoppers in, it’s just a perfect recipe for a disaster.”

Thompson said he hopes the government will notice his RM, and provide some relief to the area during this difficult time.

He noted that warning signs with grasshoppers and the weather have been present in the area for the past three years, but never have been as bad as this year. That goes for the rest of the province as well.

Thompson noted the unusually hot month of May is what set Fertile Valley and the rest of Saskatchewan off on the wrong foot this farming season.

He expressed his concern for the future of farming in Saskatchewan, considering how young farmers who have just got into the business might be scared off by the challenging past few years for farmers in Saskatchewan.

“The cost of everything, the cost of sprays, the cost of the time and the stress on producers too comes with a price,” said Thompson. “I’m an older, seasoned producer and if I get out, I don’t think I’ll get back in.”