]0 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 294 



Inasmuch as states lying to the east and south of us as well as 

 tlie Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan to the north 

 were facing the same situation, a well organized campaign embracing 

 all the states in the Western Great Plains area seemed essential. Ac- 

 cordingly, a regional conference on grasshopper control, attended by 

 official representatives from seven states and three Canadian pro- 

 vinces was held at Fargo, North Dakota, on November 21-22, 1933. 

 Represented also at the conference were the railroads, grain and 

 elevator interests, and the Northwest Crop Improvement Association. 



After two days of careful consideration, the conference prepared 

 and unanimously approved the following report : 



The couforenee members respectfully request that this question of the 

 grasshopper situation be given most serious consideration by Federal authori- 

 ties. 



1 — It should be realized that as early as 1928, grasshoppers appeared in 

 sufficient numbers to cause some apprehension and alarm. They have steadily 

 increased in numbers until the agriculture of this region is now facing a situ- 

 ation which may amount to a calamity. Not only have the insects become 

 more numerous, but only in the past season a species called the "Migratory" 

 grasshopper has appeared. This is a close relative of the old Eocky Moun- 

 tain locust, the species which ruined crops over wide areas from 1873 to 

 1876. The migi-atory grasshopper is a more destructive type than the species 

 which predominated in the earJy years of the present outbreak. 



2 — Carefully prepared statements wore presented at the conference, by 

 entomological leaders and agricultural authorities from the states of North 

 Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, "Wyoming, Wisconsin, Idaho, Montana, and 

 the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, Canada. Their re- 

 l)orts were based upon accurate egg surveys of the grasshopper egg infesta- 

 tion this past fall. They were emphatic and positive in declaring that in 

 the entire area grasshopper population has steadily increased since 1928, 

 (s'nce 1931 for Montana). 



The joint survey of conditions in the Great Plains area made by the 

 Bureau of Entomology of the L". S. D. A. in cooperation with entomological 

 agencies during September and October of the present year, predicts, in all 

 probability, one of the worst grasshopper outbreaks in 1934 in the history of 

 American agriculture. 



The follo^\-ing table summarizes the statements of the different state 

 authorities. It indicates the number of counties that are apt to have serious 

 grasshopper damage in 1934; the number of acres that may need poison, and 

 the approximate cost of bait material. This sum does not include the cost of 

 transportation and distribution of the bait, nor the administrative expense. 



