Storm damage in Saskatchewan has hit hard for farmers this past month, putting hail insurance claims well above the five-year average for June.
Storms produced different sizes of hail and heavy rain, damaging a variety of crops in parts of the province.
In Saskatchewan, storms damaged wheat, durum, canola, peas, lentils and soybeans according to Darryl Tiefenbach, of Additional Municipal Hail Insurance.
“For this week, the biggest storm event was the June 23 storm day,” he said. “This storm stretched from Alberta near Richmound with a path all the way across and through Langenburg and Churchbridge into Manitoba. The other days during this week were mainly isolated pop-up storms that did not travel long distances.”
The storms hit communities including Moose Jaw, Gravelbourg, Nipawin, Choiceland, Humboldt Yorkton, Rocanville, Holdfast, Esterhazy and Langenburg.
For many farmers, the amount of damage depended on the stage of the crop, considering some are still behind in growth from last year’s drought.
“More advanced crops are showing light to moderate damage with the odd field having severe damage,” said Canadian Crop Hail Association president Scott McQueen. “Heavy rainfall in some areas has slowed our adjuster force down, but there should be no risk of falling behind at this point.”
Saskatchewan’s agriculture ministry says many crops are behind their normal stages of development for this time of year, and adds the warm weather would help crops advance and wet fields to dry up.
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