Severe hail, wind storm causes damage to farms in the Battlefords area

He said many farms saw heavy damage from both the hail and wind.

“We got hit with some hail—probably 40 or 50 per cent worth,” he said. “Northwest of Rabbit Lake, some areas got 100 per cent—total damage. It knocked it right out.”

Smith’s wheat and canola crops were hit hard.

He said the crop was struggling with the heat this summer but were still developing.

“We needed rain,” he said.

But the damage from the July 22 storm made matters worse.

“We probably lost half our crop because of the storm,” Smith said. “We’ll still have to try and recover what is out there.”

He said he’ll apply for crop insurance but will need to reap as much as he can from what is left on the fields.

Hail stones were close to the size of a toonie. (Submitted photo/Charlie Smith)

Raymond Lacoursiere, who has a family farm east of Delmas, says the storm caused a lot of damage to his large grain storage bins, that have 24- or 30-foot high walls.

“We probably have $200,000 or more damage in our yard,” he said. “It damaged four great big bins, it pushed the walls in. It never pushed them over because they are welded to screw-piles, but they are totally damaged.”

The force of the wind also ripped out anchors and moved over other bins on the property.

“Some of his other bins are wrecked,” Lacoursiere said. “Some are tipped over. It’s terrible. We’re going to really pound on the insurance to try to get these fixed for us. But what can you do.”

Many of his crops are badly hail damaged as well.

“I talked to a neighbour last night and he said every acre he has had hail damage,” Lacoursiere said. “[The hail] was bigger than loonies he said.”

Lacoursiere, who grows a variety of crops including wheat, barley, oats and faba beans, said his faba beans were the worst hit from the hail.

“We’ll have damage in every crop, I’m sure of it,” he added.

Like most producers he was already challenged by the heat and dry conditions this year. So the storm is another hit.

“It’s horrible,” he said. “We have crops that are deteriorated right back onto the ground.”

Next, the family will further assess the damage and keep working with what is left.

“We have to keep going,” Lacoursiere said.

He added a couple of his farm augers tipped over in the storm, but the family was able to get them back into position and they seem fine, which is a relief.

Lacoursiere described the storm as having a “horrible impact” on farms in the region already struggling with a very difficult summer for production.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow

by Angela Brown

Severe hail, wind storm causes damage to farms in the Battlefords area

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