Hail hits canola and lentils

Hail has left a trail of crop damage across southern NSW. See the areas that were hit the hardest.

Hail damage in southern NSW has wiped out up to 80 per cent of some winter crops just before harvest.

The late-season hail had the most impact on canola and came after some earlier frosting of wheat in the region.

Wagga Wagga farmer, and crop consultant Alan Brown said there had been hail damage in southern NSW. Picture: Brad Newman

NSW Farmers board member and crop consultant Alan Brown, from Wagga Wagga in southern NSW said there had been scattered hail storms, particularly on the eastern side of the Riverina.

“The most severe area is Ungarie and some areas north of Junee that have been trashed,” he said.

“The rest of the damage is relatively light.”

Mr Brown said most of the affected cereal crops had recovered reasonably well despite some earlier damage.

“Hopefully, that’s the end of it,” he said.

The hailstorm swept through southern NSW during the first week of October, and there had been an earlier one in September.

“Canola has copped a flogging in places, I’ve seen some cereal crops quite badly trashed but other crops have survived reasonably well,” he said.

Mr Brown said there were about 12 crop insurance claims from the region that had more than 50 per cent damage, and two incidences had 80 per cent damage.

Most of the hail claims had damage ranging from 20 to 40 per cent.

“We probably saw more damage from the dry spell during August and September, and that has particularly affected yields in canola,” he said.

Meanwhile, crops at Ungarie in southern NSW have been hit by a series of frost events.

And despite warmer conditions, Mr Brown said the frost danger period wasn’t over yet.

Craig Henderson of Warracknabeal in Victoria. Picture: David Geraghty

At Warracknabeal in Victoria, there has been some hail damage to lentil crops.

Victorian Farmers Federation grains council president Craig Henderson said hail had caused some damage in June.

“We haven’t received any frost in our area, but there were some patch frosts in the southern parts,” he said.

This time last year, a hailstorm devastated crops in the Mallee and Wimmera, with lentils, barley and lupins all taken out during the severe weather.