Malheur County farmers are assessing the property and crop damage caused by a fast-moving, fierce thunderstorm that wreaked havoc in the region.

The storm hit the afternoon of Wednesday, June 26, moving through the Nyssa area before crossing into Idaho.

Paul Bentz, with Bentz Insurance in Vale, said some onion fields are “unrecognizable.”

Onions are a significant crop in Malheur County’s agriculture economy.

“You would not know it was an onion field unless you could smell them,” Bentz said.

The extent of the damages to crops is unclear, according to Bentz.

Bentz said his customers were lucky in that few were impacted by Wednesday’s storm.

Halfway through the growing season, onion plants begin putting on some size this time of year, according to Stuart Reitz, director of Oregon State University’s Malheur Experiment Station.

Hail and wind “exacerbate” the plants as they grow larger, making them more susceptible to disease and “bulb rot.”

Meanwhile, Reitz said other crops face similar risks due to Wednesday’s storm. Wheat harvest begins soon, he said. Wind and rain could make harvesting less efficient, especially if the heads of the wheat plants stay wet and packed together, which increases disease risk.

The storm, Reitz said, was “definitely not good news.”

Marvin Seuell, storage manager at Fort Boise Produce and chief of the Nyssa Fire Department, said property damage alone could be in the millions. However, he said, those in the community are still assessing the damage.

Seuell said that hurricane-like winds, reaching up to 90 mph, blew part of the roof off of Fort Boise’s Nyssa storage facility.

Seuell, who grew onions, wheat and potatoes until 2015, said farmers spaying their crops for disease have a “50/50” chance of seeing them survive.

“They’ll basically have to start over again,” Seuell said.

Brenda Hartley with Oregon Trail Produce, a produce storage facility that lost its roof due to the heavy winds, said their facility was “lucky” given that it’s not being used this time of year. Her business does not begin to pick up until harvest.

She said the challenge for Oregon Trail Produce is getting the building repaired before the August harvest.

Hartley said farmers who are scrambling to spray their crops are not even sure what kind of crop they will have.

“That’s hard,” she said. 

Hartley said that’s more energy and expense they investing with no guarantees.

She said most insurance companies do not cover catastrophic events, such as severe thunder and hail storms.

It’s unclear what type of relief is available for farmers.

Andrea Cantu-Schomus, director of communications with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said Thursday, June 27, that she was checking with “several different agencies” to find out what kind of assistance is available for farmers.

Hartley said it’s important to remember that there were no injuries reported.

“That’s a blessing,” she said. “Next year, there will be a brand new crop.”

Source - https://www.malheurenterprise.com