August Was A Busy Month For Hail Adjusters

Aug 31, 2021

Harvest activities are underway again across much of the prairies after recent rain caused some delays for producers.

The Canadian Crop Hail Association (CCHA) says some producers have reported minor storm damage and insurance adjusters are moving quickly to finalize claims.

According to the CCHA, member companies are investigating more than 53 claims of crop damage from mid August storms.

President Scott McQueen, of Palliser Insurance, said storms caused mostly minor damage to crops in Alberta and Manitoba with hail ranging from pea to marble size.

"We had a light week of claims in Western Canada as harvest continues," he said. "Rainfall has slowed harvest in many areas as adjusters move quickly to wrap up claims. Claims are finishing quickly as many of the fields have been opened up for easy access."

Murray Bantle, with Co-operative Hail Insurance in Saskatchewan says storms damaged canola but the damage was light.

He notes the July claims are 97 percent complete in Saskatchewan.

The number of claims is below average with hail event days slightly below average, however, the claim severity is above average.

Bantle says for August, 91 percent of the claims are complete, adding that so far, the year has seen below average activity in Saskatchewan but the severity is well above average.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.