Agricultural experts have been tallying the crop damage caused by a recent storm that packed 50 mph winds and baseball-sized hail in parts of Minnesota.
The storm was a blow for farmers from Kandiyohi County to Nicollet County at a time when commodity prices are already down.
“We had a wonderful crop. Best we’ve had in this area in five years,” said Curt Burns, farmer and crop consultant, tells WCCO-TV.
The hailstorm was up to 60 miles long and six miles wide and caused extensive damage.
“This affected thousands of acres of corn, soy beans, kidney beans, sugar beets, peas, sweet corn, and alfalfa,” said Burns, all adding up to millions in losses.
“For this time of year, this is really significant,” said Seth Naeve, a soybean agronomist for U of M Extension.
Naeve said farmers in Renville, McLeod and Sibley Counties were hit especially hard.
While soybeans may re-grow, they won’t come close to the yield for which they were on pace, Naeve said.
“These farmers that are affected are affected individually. We really have to consider the impact on individual farmers rather than the collective whole,” said Naeve.
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