Farmfest by Redwood Falls is one of the largest outdoor farm shows in the Midwest. Many seed companies plant corn and soybean plots on the site to show farmers during the show in early August. These pictures are what the corn and soybeans look like after a devastating hail storm a few days ago. The hail path was about 6 miles wide and 26 miles long. The beans were pretty well wiped out while the corn that was not cut off probably will grow back. Even with good weather the corn yield will cut dramatically though.

If you have been farming for a while you probably know what farmers in this area feel like. At some point over the years your crop probably was hit by hail too. There are areas that seem to get hit by hail more often but we all have taken our turn at getting hail. Most farmers have purchased crop insurance and some even put specific hail insurance on top their normal revenue insurance. Even with adequate insurance it is hard to see your crop destroyed in a few minutes!

Most of the beans in this area probably will be replanted. If the weather cooperates, you could expect 35-40 bushels an acre if you can get beans replanted soon. It is too late to replant corn. I suspect most of the corn will be left to see how it recovers. That opens up a lot of other tough decisions. With the canopy opened up, you probably will have another flush of weeds. Now you will have additional costs of herbicides because you don't want weeds to produce a lot of seed. There probably will be disease issues like smut and Goss's Wilt that will infect the corn later in the season.

FARMFEST HAIL CORN
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