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Tisdale hailstorm may have resulted in crop damage

TISDALE — According to Kim Stonehouse, crops extension specialist with the Tisdale office at the Ministry of Agriculture, it’s possible Tisdale’s brief hailstorm on July 2 had an impact on local crops.
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TISDALE — According to Kim Stonehouse, crops extension specialist with the Tisdale office at the Ministry of Agriculture, it’s possible Tisdale’s brief hailstorm on July 2 had an impact on local crops.

“There was enough hail over a significant period of time that it could cause some significant damage in some crops,” Stonehouse said. “So I guess producers will have to keep an eye on their crops to see where they are and get in touch with their (insurance) adjusters.”

He said these hailstorms aren’t uncommon, and they’re usually sporadic and spotty so as a result not a large area gets covered by the hail.

The July 2 hailstorm lasted about 20 minutes, with the hail falling for about five to ten minutes of that.

“Producers take out hail insurance on their crops, so if it’s done significant damage to the crop they’ll call the company they have hail insurance with and an adjuster will come out and assess the damage. Depending on what they have for a deductible, there may be a payment,” Stonehouse said.

“The adjusters won’t be out right away because they will want to see how much the crop will recover before they do their adjusting.”

Producers can look for potential damage to their crop themselves through searching for broken stems and branches on the plants.

“Adjusters are pretty good at accessing the damage.”