Hail claims are beginning to pour in to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation after a series of storms cut through the province in mid-June, leaving hail and wind-damaged crops in their wake.

“We’ve received a couple hundred hail claims over the last few days as farmers survey their fields and see what kind of damage or if there’s evidence of hail loss,” said David Van Deynze, chief product officer for MASC.

Van Deynze said most of the hail claims have come out of their Morden office, which represents the south-central area of the province.

Sandblasting damage is also being reported as a result a June 16 windstorm that scoured the landscape on June 16. Wind gusts over 70 kilometres an hour were commonly reported in central Manitoba, while western Manitoba saw winds approaching or over 100 kilometres an hour, according to Manitoba Agriculture weather data.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) the day after the wind storm, the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers advised producers on how to assess the severity of their crop damage.

“If the main growing point is damaged or shorn off, regrowth from axillary buds (where leaves and cotyledons meet the main stem) will occur,” read the post. “If plants are broken or pinched below the cotyledon node, those plants will die.”

Van Deynze said it’s too early to guess how widespread the damage is from the wind storm, as most claims are just coming in now, but initial impressions raise some concern.

“We’re getting some claims where the damage is severe enough that there’s not a lot of crop left,” he said. “And now, guys are scrambling to try and get another crop in the ground here before the seeding deadline of June 20.”

“It’s been a challenging spring in many ways so far this year,” he added.

Source - https://www.manitobacooperator.ca