b'Grasshoppers on the Rise with Hot, Dry WeatherFollowing a dry, hot 2023 growing season and an unseasonably warm fall, grasshoppers are on the menu for 2024, Barkley says.Grasshoppers were two weeks ahead of what they normally are in 2023. I saw grasshoppers mating July 2, they were laying eggs for a long time this summer. Those eggs that were laid had a long time to mature in the ground because of our beautiful fall to mature in the ground. So, they are probably pushing some of them 80 per cent maturity, Barkley explains.Grasshoppers should be expected in southern regions that have experienced an influx in recent years, and Barkley cautions she has heard reports from agronomists as far up as the Vermilion and Lloydminster regions about grasshopper infestations.A pea leaf weevil. PHOTO: SHELLEY BARKLEYWheat stem sawflies will be another pest to look out for in 2024. They favour hotter, drier conditions as well, and have flourished in recent years. Same as with grasshoppers, as there have been reports of them moving farther north with a farmer, telling Barkley they had found them in fields in the Consort, Alta. area.Pea leaf weevil levels are on the rise with the corridor between Edmonton east along Highway 16 to the Saskatchewan border seeing more infestations. I would expect that (farmers) are going to be seeing that kind of damage showing up in their fields. And of course, its not the damage on the top of the plant that youre at all worried about. Its whats happening under the ground when theyre feeding on the nodules, Barkley states.Cutworms caused issues during spring 2023 and Barkley expects that could be the case again this year. She recommends farmers to scout seedling crops in late May through to July for cutworms. A grasshopper.PHOTO: SHELLEY BARKLEYSpring 2024 19'