Hailstorms cause millions in damage to wheat, grain crops

GREAT FALLS (AP) — Farmers are harvesting what remains of their winter wheat after hailstorms in a northern Montana county earlier this month destroyed an estimated $7.5 million in crops.

The Great Falls Tribune reports (http://gftrib.com/1Ko6nDM) almost 182,000 acres were impacted by hailstorms that Hill County Farm Service Agency executive director Les Rispens says were probably the most significant to hit the state in years.

Rispens said about 20 percent of the affected cropland is a total loss, with more than 50,000 acres expected to see a 60 to 70 percent loss.

This is the second production season of bad weather for wheat farmers.

Rain in August 2014 drowned crops, and now drought conditions have farmers harvesting earlier and worrying about how quality is going to impact prices in the weeks to come.

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