Rain, hail and high winds took over most of the province during the June 13-14 weekend
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Alberta farmers are assessing damage to their crops after storm systems hit most of the province last weekend.
As of June 18, Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) received 216 hail claims from producers across the province affecting approximately 150,000 acres.
“Clients are asked to check their fields and report any damage within 14 days of the storm. So, likely, that number will increase,” said Nancy Smith. She’s an insurance product coordinator at AFSC.
Approximately 75 per cent of crops in Alberta had emerged prior to the storm and were susceptible to hail damage, said Smith.
“Typically, what we see is crops that are hailed on earlier in their growing stage do have a really good chance of recovering and still producing a harvestable yield. The yield may not be what it originally could have been. But at this point, lots of these crops will come back and do quite well,” she told Farms.com.
Since not all crops will recover, producers should assess their damage and, if reseeding looks to be the best option, they should do so soon, said Smith.
“Some of the silage crops have a little bit longer for reseeding, but most insurable crops have until June 20” to be reseeded and still insured, said Smith.
Hail is a common occurrence in Alberta and 90 per cent of AFSC’s clients have hail endorsement on their crop insurance which covers hail damage as well as fire damage. Clients can also add additional hail insurance, said Smith.
Hail is “one of the major causes of (crop) loss in Western Canada. Particularly in Alberta, being so close to the mountains, hail is one of our main concerns for a large portion of the province,” she said.
Smith encourages producers to submit a claim if their fields were affected by the storm. This can be done online or by contacting a branch office.
Olga Ivanova/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo