2025 Pasture Insects
As we look towards the 2025 growing season, this is a great time to review your insect scouting program to ensure accurate and timely management of insect pests in your pasture acres. The most significant pasture and rangeland insect pests to be on the lookout for in 2025 are grasshoppers and flies.
The 2025 rangeland grasshopper risk map from USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) indicates there may be increased grasshopper activity in the eastern panhandle and southwestern Nebraska. Although grasshoppers tend to thrive in dry, hot conditions and outbreaks can be severely limited by cool, wet spring weather, it is still recommended that producers throughout the state scout fields and field edges beginning in late April or early May, when grasshoppers are still in the nymph stage and therefore easier to control.
In Nebraska, two species of fly cause the most economic injury to pasture and rangeland cattle: the horn fly and face fly. The horn fly is a blood-feeding insect that is found on the back, sides and poll area of the animal. Nebraska livestock producers normally see two horn fly population spikes, one in early June and the second in late August through mid-September. While the face fly is not a blood feeder, it can cause extreme discomfort by feeding on animal secretions from the eyes, mouth and muzzle. Populations usually peak in late July and August and are most common near waterways, in areas of significant rainfall, and in irrigated pastures.
With some planning and a scouting program in place, pasture and rangeland pest populations can be successfully managed and maintained below thresholds in 2025.
Spring Alfalfa Plant Evaluation
As temperatures begin to rise, don’t forget to take a bit of time to assess alfalfa stand health going into this year’s growing season. Snow cover over the winter helped insulate plants from extreme temperatures, but exposed plants, older stands, or late harvested alfalfa still have a potential for winter kill.
Even before plants begin to green up, individual plant assessments can be done. While assessment before green-up occurs may seem a bit preemptive, pre-scouting now can focus scouting efforts to problem areas later on when time becomes precious during spring planting.
1. Dig up 4-5 random plants per 20 acres, being sure to get the crown and a good portion of the tap root (around six inches at least). Split the root and crown open. A healthy plant will be white and firm, while winter damaged taproots will be yellow to brown in color and stringy. Yield will begin to be impacted when damage is greater than 30% of the total root/crown area.
2. Look for alive, intact basal buds at the crown of the plant. Buds formed last fall will start growth sooner and boost first cutting yields. A lack of basal buds doesn’t mean that the plant won’t recover, but first cuttings may be smaller.
3. If plants have begun growth, look at where it is occurring on the crown. Healthy plants will have growth fully throughout the crown while damaged plants will often have asymmetrical growth with more stems on one side than the other.
If more than 30% of the plants assessed have significant damage, yield for the upcoming year may be impacted. Options like interseeding perennial grasses, seeding a warm-season forage crop after the first harvest, or terminating the stand may need to be considered.
