One of the nice aspects of insect agriculture is the ability to farm vertically. This means that there is potential for expansion other than a horizontal spread covering more square footage. Imagine a large warehouse-type facility that is stacked 15 feet tall with grasshopper pens.
I have recently been experimenting with some stackable cages and vertical infrastructure.
I recently was made aware of some work that was done years ago by the USDA that detailed a dry diet for grasshoppers. Grasshoppers don't drink water. They get what little H2O they need from the greens they eat. The green food is also a hurdle in the large scale production of grasshoppers. The feeding aspect is time-consuming and can also be a large expense. I have been contemplating dry feeding options lately in the Thoptera grasshopper facility. If the greens (we feed mostly free, organic lettuce and some wheatgrass) could be supplemented or substituted with a dry feed source, it would make a huge difference in the operation and ultimately profitability.
Below is a photo of some trial work that is ongoing with feeding our grasshoppers a supplement of pelletized forages. The feed is moistened with water at feeding.
