The wet conditions that hampered spring seeding continue to worry many producers.
“A lot of farmers have been telling me they’re concerned this could be a big hail year because of the extra moisture we’ve had across the province this spring once all the snow melted and it rained on fields that hadn’t dried out from last year,” said Brian Tainsh, provincial adjusting manager with Agriculture Financial Services Corp., in a news release. “Experience has shown that when there’s this much moisture laying around, you can often wind up with a fair bit of hail.”
The correlation between residual moisture and hail is confirmed by Geoff Strong, a meteorologist and adjunct professor at the University of Alberta.
He explained that the more saturated the soil is, the more humidity is released by it and the vegetation, which in turn can feed thunderstorms.
“I expect we’ll see the most hail activity in Central and Southern Alberta, where it’s the wettest, and less in regions that are drier,” said Strong.
Alberta gets more hail than anywhere else in Canada, he continued, with most hailstorms forming over the foothills.
Last year, AFSC paid out more than $164 million in hail claims. Damage was spread across the province, with frequent rain during the growing season blamed for the formation of hailstorms.
Losses could have been higher, said Strong, if temperatures had been warmer.
This year, said Tainsh, AFSC is preparing for the worst.
“We’re hiring 10 more adjusters than last year, for a total adjusting force of about 140 people.”
All will be equipped with GPS units and laptops, so they can file claims from the field.
Last year, farmers were able to obtain hail insurance online for the first time. Many took advantage, with more than 10 per cent of all straight hail policies sold that way.
“We’re expecting a lot of repeat users, as well as producers who decide to use it for the first time, because of the two per cent premium discount and the flexibility of having access to hail protection, day or night, without having to drive into town when they’re busy,” said Tainsh.
Straight hail insurance can be purchased as soon as crops emerge and it takes effect at noon on the day after the policy is written.
AFSC, which is a provincial Crown corporation, administers crop and hail insurance in Alberta on behalf of the provincial and federal governments.
The Canadian Crop Hail Association, which represents the companies that sell hail insurance to producers in Western Canada, expects premiums this year to be similar to those in 2010. Some townships will see small increases while others will experience decreases, it said.
A release issued by the association said late seeding and the slow development of crops have prompted some producers to delay hail insurance purchases. It warned that the occurrence of an early storm before insurance is purchased can limit the opportunity for subsequent coverage.