Various crops in the Vulcan county were damaged after the hail storm this past weekend.

The storm was widespread in some small areas of the county, inflicting severe damage in the areas hit.

There is no way of predicting hail, said Terry Olsen assistant agricultural field man of Vulcan County agricultural services.

“Taking out hail insurance is the only way of protecting yourself.”

While the hail storm damaged crops in certain areas, according to Olsen the rest of the crops are in good condition. The rain this past weekend helped the other crops because there needs to be subsequent moisture to form a decent crop and now the crops are going into bloom and forming seed, said Olsen.

“This year has a possibility of being a significantly decent crop,” he said.

The crops are doing better than last year. Currently, the eastern part of the county is experiencing drier crops and the western crops have more moisture. Olsen said due to the heat this summer, the crops have also been ripening quicker, potentially meaning an earlier harvest.

“Hopefully, we won’t get any more hail and everyone will have a decent harvest,” Olsen said.

Source - http://www.vulcanadvocate.com/