Hundred of hectares of crops assessed after hail damage in the Wimmera and Mallee

Hundred of hectares of crops hit by hail in the Wimmera and Mallee have been assessed by insurers.

Farmers in the Mallee and Wimmera are assessing damage after a hailstorm ripped through large areas of cropping country last week.
Rainbow farmer Daniel Eckermann said the hail damaged crops on a property he farms with his brother in a strip 2km wide by 10km long last Monday.

The storm hit 340ha of lentils, 250ha of barley, and 40ha of lupins, Mr Eckermann said.

Before the storm, crops on the property had been looking fantastic, and so far this year has been “one of the best years we’ve had, rainfall-wise”.

He said at least eight croppers in the area were hit by the hail.

Hail damaged Daniel Eckermann's lentil crop at Rainbow in Western Victoria. Photo: Supplied

Daniel Eckermann also had 250ha of barley hit by hail. If there is good rain through spring, he is hopeful the crop could recover. Photo: Supplied

Hailstones were also reported in Mildura and Horsham last Monday as a storm front moved across western Victoria.

Any lasting damage is likely to hit growers hard in a year when many have paid record high prices for inputs like urea.

Most crops are still at an early stage of their development cycle at this time in the season, but any crops that had started to form flowers or grains when they were hit by hail could have reduced yields, Grain Growers Ltd chair Brett Hosking said last week.

Mr Eckermann said his crops, which had been assessed by an insurer, were “fairly damaged” and would have to be assessed again before this year’s harvest to determine overall losses.

He was hopeful they might still be able to recover if they got decent rain through spring.

Last week there was widespread rainfall across Victoria of 10-40mm.

Horsham recorded 40mm, Hamilton 45mm, Dimboola 39mm, Maryborough 36mm, Portland 33mm, Bendigo 32mm, Nhill 30mm, Warrnambool 28mm, Stawell 27mm, Rainbow 24mm and Mildura 20mm this week.

Hailstones at big as golf balls fell in Mildura last week. Photo: Else Kennedy