Hailstorm causes major damage in Nebraska

Gary Lesoing Extension Educator

The severe thunderstorm that swept through southeast Nebraska left a swath of significant damage to crops and property last week. Nebraska Extension has a number of resources on hail damage and a team that put this information together following hailstorms in 2014. After the storm last week, the most important thing for farmers to do was assess all their fields (drive, walk, and make a list) and understand the insurance policy they have and report damage to their crop insurance agent. It has been over a week since the storm so the chance for crop recovery can be better determined.

Nebraska Extension has a website "Hail Know" which provides resources for farmers to use. This website can be found at: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/hailknow. Here is an example of a video example showing hail damage assessment: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/hail-know/video-hail-damage-assessment . This is an example of an infographic also determining the hail damage assessment: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/Hail/Images/HailKnow-Damage-Assessment.png . There are some excellent resources here and the infographics and videos go through all the factors that must be considered when assessing damage and considering your options.

In looking at fields last week, there is a wide range in damages. It appears most of the corn has a chance to recover as the growing point appeared to not be damaged from the hail. Many soybeans appear to have a lesser chance of recovery as the cotyledons have been destroyed or damaged from the hail. We should learn a lot this week about recovery potential.

In talking to seed dealers, it is important to order seed if you believe you may need to replant. Seed is in high demand and may be hard to get the seed you want. In assessing the hail-damaged crops, keep in mind surviving plant population and yield potential. Soybeans are very resilient and compensate for lower than desired populations and can yield very well at these lower populations. Important factors are having good weed control in your soybeans and being aware of potential disease issues and insect pests that can affect your soybeans when they have been injured and stressed from the hail. If it appears your corn will recover and you decide to not replant, it is important to keep a close eye on haildamaged fields. With some stalks being bruised or leaves shredded, this can be a concern for disease during the growing season. Under some circumstances, fungicides may be recommended during the growing season, especially when conditions are great for fungal disease development. Also if you have fields that have corn stalks damaged from the hail, you may want to consider harvesting these fields earlier as they will be more susceptible to stalk rot.

If you have specific questions about hail damage, feel free to contact me at (402) 274-4755 or glesoing2@ unl.edu . They I mentioned earlier the resources listed provide great information on hail damage and making crop management decisions related to it.