Storms leave close to 1,000 hail claims on Prairies

MarketsFarm — There were almost 1,000 claims for hail damage across the Prairies following a series of storms Sept. 15-20, according to the Canadian Crop Hail Association (CCHA).

The CCHA said the most destructive of the storms during that week came on Sept. 17.

“There is significant damage from this late–season storm. There was heavy rain in some areas of this storm path with the highest reported rainfall accumulation of around five inches. It was a slow-moving storm,” said Darryl Tiefenbach of Additional Municipal Hail in a statement.

“In the core of the storm path, crops are completely destroyed. The heavy rainfall in some of these areas will make adjusting challenging. We are all hoping for sunshine, warm temperatures and wind to help farmers harvest crops.”

“The Sept. 17 storm was very devastating. There was lots of heavy damage to crops that were ready to harvest. The heavy rain that came with this storm could slow down adjusting due to field conditions,” Murray Bantle of Co-operative Hail Insurance Co. added.

Bantle urged Prairie farmers to contact their insurance adjusters to determine check strips in their fields prior to harvest.

Generally, each field will have five check strips, usually 20 by 30 feet, with one from the middle and the four corners.