EDEN, Utah — Some farms in Utah are dealing with a pest that producers can’t seem to get rid of, with this year, in particular, a wax in the population cycle.
If you step into the farmer of 18 years Carli Brewer’s garden, you can see and hear grasshoppers of all sizes, everywhere. Brewer owns Lavender Hill Utah, where she makes and sells Lavender products. But this year, she couldn’t harvest her own lavender.
“It’s pretty devastating when you put so much time and effort into it, and it’s a yearlong prep for this harvest, and it doesn’t come,” said Brewer.
Grasshoppers ate the stems and blossoms of lavender.
“As soon as I was out here working in the yard, and I saw the little grasshoppers coming in," said Brewer. "That’s when I started to get discouraged because I know they’re only going to get bigger."
She struggled with her harvest for the past two years too. Last year was because of grasshoppers, but the problem wasn’t this bad, and the year before that was because of the drought. She was hoping this winter would give her a good harvest. Instead, Brewer had to use lavender from a friend’s garden to sustain her business.
“Not having the lavender really impacts my business,” said Brewer.
She also has a garden where she grows fresh fruits and veggies. But this year, the grasshoppers either at her or the land is bare.
“When I saw the grasshoppers, I just decided not to do a garden this year," she said. "Because I didn’t want to fight the battle."
Kris Watson, the Utah state entomologist said that these increases in the grasshopper populations happen in a cycle, every few years.
“We live in grasshopper country,” said Watson. “We live in Utah, they’ve been here long before us and will likely be here after us."
"It’s just a matter of managing the pest," said Watson. "So they’re not such an economic burden on producers.”
For Brewer, it’s hard to look at her garden, but she is staying hopeful.
“It’s a loss, the plants look fine enough so I’m hoping that they will survive for next year and I’ll put in another year of hope to next year’s harvest," she said. "But it’s just really hard.”
