Hailstorms Cause Extensive Crop Loss in Central Nebraska
Yet another late-season hail storm tests farmers resolve in central Nebraska.
The latest thunderstorm hit Howard County, Aug 16 and brought with it strong winds and large hail.
Troy Ingram, extension educator, said the majority of the damage occurred between Farwell and Dannebrog, causing extensive damage to row crops.
Aug. 16 #hail devastates fields in Howard County. View photos of corn and soybean fields and related video at https://t.co/ThmpLJ7E2V @HailKnowUNL pic.twitter.com/zNIbQsQATK
— Nebraska CropWatch (@UNL_CropWatch) August 18, 2018
Ingram said there are also reports of structural damage to centre pivots and grain bins.
This storm comes just days after another band of damaging hail ripped through crops in Merrick, Hamilton, York, and Seward county.
More of the hail damage in Merrick County pic.twitter.com/JsPXBH3fAm
— NTV's Grow (@NTVsGrow) August 13, 2018
Justin McMeachan, a cropping systems specialist with Nebraska Extension said, “Driving around looking at a lot of fields, some of them look pretty bad, all the way back to the ear, that’s all that’s standing in the fields.”
Nebraska Extension have organised meetings in Central City and Utica to give farmers guidance on where to go from here.
One thing farmers can do is consider cover crops or silage, but there can be nitrate issues when grazing forage cover crops.
For many, the best option is to collect the insurance, which makes sense for that individual farmer — but after such extensive losses (worldwide) we need to start putting two and two together and coming up with ‘food shortages’.
GSM
