Hailstorm near Winchester damages 400 hectares of farmer’s crops
A hailstorm caused havoc south of Ottawa on Tuesday afternoon, with one farmer saying at least 1,000 acres of his soybean and corn crops were damaged.
“At first it was just rain, light rain, then it just pounded down real hard for about 10 minutes and then it switched over to hail,” said Joe Spruit of Triple J Farms.
When the hail backed off, he said, the rain kept coming.
"There's a lot of soybeans that were stripped right down to nothing. Just stalks standing. And there's a lot of corn that's broke, some are broke right off at the top," Spruit added.
Shredded soybean leaves at Triple J Farms near Winchester. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)The farm sits along Spruit Road and he says the damage is localized to the crops on both sides of it.
"We have land on the other side of 43 Highway south of that and nothing was touched," he added.
The hail was so large it actually left marks on the cornstalks where it hit, and was strong enough to break some stalks right in half.
Joe’s brother Johnny was finding pool toys in the cornfield, with the winds ripping the sign off his front yard. Looking over the soybean crop on Wednesday, there wasn't much left.
"It's like it's totally stripped right? The leaves, pretty much all of the top leaves are gone, been torn off," Johnny said.
The plants were in the flowering stage with some already producing bean pods.
"I'm not sure if that plant is going to rebound from that again. It doesn’t look good, that's for sure," he added.
A soybean pod at Triple J Farms near Winchester. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)The corn crop is also in a critical stage, trying to produce a cob.
"The corn may rebound, but we're going have crop insurance take a look at it see what they see," Johnny said.
Joe estimates the hail was around the size of a loonie, also damaging his wheat crop, which he had planned to start harvesting on Wednesday.
Now he's left waiting for the land to dry.
"The wheat stayed standing really good but we see that a lot of the cereal has been knocked out of the plant," he said. "A bunch of it has been knocked out onto the ground. It's going to cut the yield back quite a bit."
While he understands he can't control the weather, he has never seen this type of damage at the farm, and has his fingers crossed that some of the crops can be salvaged.
"Hopefully it comes back, or at least get something off of it," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
'I just want to be safe': Ukrainian man in Canada faces limbo amid consular freeze
A recent decision to restrict consular services for fighting-aged Ukrainian men has made a Ukrainian man in Canada feel less certain of his next steps — and worried he could be pulled back to the war.
Dozens of U.S. deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the U.S. over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.