Prairie Weather (Rural Roots Canada) – Nearly 11,000 hail damage claims were made in 2024, with payouts of $230 million to producers, according to the Canadian Crop Hail Association (CCHA).

In a release, CCHA president Scott McQueen said severe crop damage was reported through until the start of fall. “The season had an unusually slow start but quickly picked up steam as the season progressed,” he explained. “We saw severe crop damage in late August right up until the end of September. The week of August 19 to 25 produced more than 2,800 claims and over one million in damaged acres.”

With strong crop pricing at the start of the year and high input costs, McQueen said producers across the Prairies purchased more than $10 billion in crop hail coverage. “This matched the record amount of liability set in 2023,” he added.

The CCHA said there were thousands of late-season claims as farmers raced against the weather to harvest crops. Its member companies were able to resolve every claim. “As an association, we are proud to have helped prairie farmers in 2024, and we look forward to being there again in 2025,” said McQueen.

READ THE LAST Hail Report: Severe Late Season Storms Still Causing Headaches for Farmers