Grasshoppers

     The 1870s are remembered as grasshopper years in Nebraska, although the insects visited the state on other occasions. The worst grasshopper damage in the state's history occurred in July of 1874 when farmers saw whole fields of wheat, corn, potatoes, turnips, and other crops eaten by grasshoppers. As a result, some Nebraska homesteaders abandoned their claims and returned to the East. Fortunately the more prosperous 1880s helped Nebraskans to recover some of their losses.