"The locusts have no king, yet all of them go out in ranks." That's an old Bible proverb, but you don't have to travel back to ancient Egypt to be at the mercy of the swarm. Colorado cannabis farmers are losing major battles to grasshoppers this year, with entire crops quickly wiped out after the insects arrive, according to growers and industry representatives.
Although this isn't the first time that outdoor cannabis growers have battled bugs, 2023's above-average rains and increased vegetation have brought "a biblical plague" to cannabis farms this summer and fall, according to Jon McIntosh.
McIntosh and his son, Ben, run Humble Farms, a three-tiered cultivation facility in Ordway, a small town in southern Colorado. There, they grow the majority of their plants in a greenhouse and under electronic lighting in a warehouse, but they've kept a section of the property for outdoor plants since launching in 2019. This year, however, Humble Farms won't be offering any outdoor flowers.
"They eat at the base of the plant. We put 1,000 plants in the ground, and within a few days, there were three left," Ben McIntosh recalls.
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