Hail damages Union County crops

Aug. 15—LA GRANDE — Farmers in Union County are describing the hailstorm that hit Union County late last week as among the worst they have seen.

"It was pretty significant, pretty severe," said Matt Insko, a farmer in the Imbler area.

Insko said he and many farmers were just getting ready to start harvesting their wheat when the hailstorm hit at about 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 11.

"It would have been nice if it had been a couple of weeks later. It did a lot more damage because of when it hit," he said.

Insko lost about 30% of his 450-acre wheat crop. Fortunately, he had purchased hail insurance for his crop.

"That will definitely take some of the sting away," he said.

Insko has been farming in the Grande Ronde Valley for 23 years and said he has seen few storms drop so much hail over such a wide area so quickly. This made driving during the hail storm difficult.

"My windshield wipers could not move fast enough," Insko said.

The hail hit during a thunderstorm that started south of La Grande and moved northeast through the Wallowa area. Insko said he always fears thunderstorms because of the hail they can bring. He said thunderstorms are more likely when there are temperatures in the 90s, as was the case last week.

Seth Hassinger, a farmer in the Cove area, said that the hailstorm missed his family's farm. He knows firsthand, though, just how devastating hailstorms can be to crops. Hassinger said that even small hail stones can have a big impact. He recalled how once a hailstorm filled with small stones destroyed much of the peppermint crop on his family's farm.

"It shredded the leaves off," he said.

Brett Rudd, also a Grande Ronde Valley farmer, said the storm destroyed as much as 35% percent of his 500-acre canola crop.

The storm also ruined up to 10% of his 150-acre wheat crop.

"The hail knocked the seeds out of their heads," he said.

Rudd, like Insko, describes the hailstorm as one of the worst he's seen.

"It was definitely a memorably bad storm. It was so widespread," said Rudd, who is 45 and has lived in Union County all of his life.

Curt Ricker, who farms in the Island City area, also sustained heavy losses.

The hailstorm destroyed 30% of his 40-acre fall wheat crop, 70% of his 80-acre spring wheat crop and 70% percent of his 50-acre barley crop.

Ricker's 80-acre peppermint crop also took a major hit, but he is not sure yet how extensive his losses will be.

He was set to soon begin harvesting his peppermint until the hail struck and wiped out much of the crop's leaves. Now, Ricker plans to water his peppermint extensively over the next two weeks to see how much regrowth he can generate.

Ricker also said the timing of the storm was terrible because his crop was ready to harvest.

"I was ready to start collecting with my combine," he said.

Ricker said this was the worst hailstorm in recent memory.

"It is the worst I've seen," said Ricker who has been farming for 23 years, all in the Grande Ronde Valley.