Farmers watch in horror as 50,000 tonnes of crops worth millions of dollars flattened by Riverland storm
RIVERLAND farmers have been left reeling by a powerful storm that destroyed crops and left a damage bill expected to be in the millions.
DEVASTATED farmers have watched on in horror as crops worth millions of dollars were flattened by a thunderstorm that cut a swathe through the Riverland.
An estimated 50,000 tonnes of crops including grapes, almonds, grain and stone fruit were wiped out when the freak storm hit on Friday afternoon.
The total damage bill in the region has been estimated at up to $100 million — and farmers say insurance policies do not cover hail.
The State Government is tight-lipped on whether it will provide assistance packages until the full damage is known, but it and the Federal Government have been proactive in lending support to the region with South Australian Senator Anne Ruston visiting the Riverland yesterday.
The latest battering comes just two months after market gardeners across the Adelaide Plains lost as much as $30 million in produce from flooding in the Virginia area.
Grape grower John ‘Yianni” Koutouzis said about 10 minutes of hail had wiped out the entire 30ha of wine and table grapes at his family’s Berri farm about 4pm on Friday.
“We were out in the fields irrigating when we saw huge lightning in the distance and the wind picked up. We all ran for cover in the shed when the hail started to come down,” he said.
“The hail was the size of golf balls and was coming in horizontally like it was fired from a machinegun. It was like being in a war zone.”
“We were trying to yell to each other to get to cover but couldn’t hear over the sound of the hail on the tin roof. We honestly were fearing for our lives.”
“It was terrible seeing my mum and dad crying, we’ve never experienced this before and now we’re left wondering what we do with no income this season.
“We’re stuck, it’s a really, really bad situation.”
Mr Koutouzis said insurance would not cover the damage because it had not been caused to harvested grapes.
Neighbour, and apricot and peach grower, Daniel Singh, said he estimated the hailstorm caused more than $140,000 damage in the few minutes it lasted.
“We came outside and saw all the fruit on the ground. I can’t believe it myself, there was only five weeks until harvest,” he said.
“Some pieces of fruit are still on the tree but they are all big marks on them. There was no warning, we expected 5-10 mm of rain but no mention of anything else.”
Liebich Family Vineyards owner Steve Liebich said he had lost almost two-thirds of his 6000 tonnes of grapes across his seven wineries between Cadell and Waikerie.
Mr Liebich said he was devastated about the wreckage, which he predicted would cost his company $1 million in lost revenue.
“Whether that becomes $1.2 million or $1.5 million in damage we don’t know but it’s a big loss,” he said.
“It’s not easy to deal with but it’s what you expect when you’re a farmer. We’re nothing if not resilient.”
Mr Liebich said a lack of hail cover meant most farmers wouldn’t have insurance cover.
“My dad’s been farming since the 1960s and he’s never seen hail. We know people who’ve had hail cover all their lives and got rid of it a couple of years ago only for this to hit,” he said.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Tom Boeck said almost 70,000 lightening strikes were reported across SA in the 24 hours to 9am on Saturday.
State Emergency Service volunteers responded to about 400 calls in the 24 hours after the storms began to hit about 4pm Friday.
Adelaide’s eastern suburbs, the Hills and parts of the Riverland — including Berri, Barmera and Waikerie — were among the hardest hit.