Farmers survey crop damage after hailstorm

Farmers looking for salvageble crops after hail damage

Farmers looking for salvageable crops after hail damage

Last week’s devastating hailstorm could have some long-term impacts.

Officials say tens of thousands of homes were damaged by the hail on Friday but many farmers are also left picking up after some of their crops were destroyed.

It’s been a cruel summer for Minnesota farmers, who’ve had to deal with drought and extreme heat for much of the season. And, just as the weather started turning favorable, storms have left cornstalks snapped and soybean stems broken.

“That’s when a hailstone hits a piece of corn at this time of the year,” Alex Bleck said, referring to a damaged crop in McLeod County on Tuesday. “It just blew right through the silk and all those kernels right there are now destroyed.”

Bleck says his soybeans were waist-high before the storm. Now, his focus has shifted to how much he can grow.

“It’s just a part of farming. You just have to roll with it,” he said.

Going forward, he says he could still use the rain, he just hopes that the severe weather with it is kept at a minimum.