Location: Pest Management Research
Project Number: 3032-30400-001-009-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2026
End Date: Sep 30, 2028
Objective:
The overall project focuses on using novel approaches to identify how and why grasshopper populations and outbreaks are changing over time and space. Grasshoppers are major herbivores in grassland systems and are managed using large scale chemical control programs by USDA APHIS in rangelands of the western United States to reduce their populations where they may compete with cattle for local forage. Predictions of changes in grasshopper populations can be challenging due to limited long term and large-scale harmonized datasets.
Objective 1: Utilize both long-term data of grasshopper populations and community modelling approaches to improve understanding of the conditions that favor specific grasshopper outbreaks for the benefit of ranchers.
Objective 2: Identify immediate and long-term grasshopper responses to the USDA grasshopper spray program to improve understanding of when grasshopper control programs lead to positive economic returns for ranchers and land managers. The project will involve collection grasshoppers in sprayed and non-sprayed areas as well as vegetation and pollinator sampling to identify program efficiency and areas to improve.
Approach:
Related to Objective 1, the project will analyze ongoing datasets of long-term grasshopper and plant sampling collected by USDA ARS in Sidney, MT. This project will use both long-term data of grasshopper populations and community modelling approaches to improve understanding of the conditions that favor specific grasshopper communities for the benefit of rangeland management efficiency and cost savings. Related to Objective 2, the project will conduct novel collaborative research to test grasshopper population responses and rangeland forage production responses to grasshopper control programs.