On May 19th, bad weather had caused losses worth millions in agriculture, and in this week, it got even worse in some regions. Between May 28th and June 1st, hailstorms damaged 30,000 hectares. According to first estimates the new damages will cost producers around 20 million Euro. Three quarters of the reports are due to hail; additionally, there were problems with heavy rains and storms, often a combination of all three.
A distinct belt of thunderstorms reached from Frankfurt - where air traffic had to be halted for an hour - past the Wetterau, all the way to Fulda. Another thunderstorm was located North of Marburg, to Amöneburg to Bad Hersfeld. Further affected regions were the greater area of Kassel, where the storms started and then moved further East. Crossing Thuringia (Mühlhausen, Bad Langensalza, Sondershausen) they ended in Grimma in Saxony. Between Osnabrück, Rhaden and Hannover all the way to Braunschweig, another thunderstorm caused damage. The Rhineland, Lower Rhine and parts of the Ruhr Valley were affected as well. Further South, the damage focused around Karlsruhe and Mannheim.
Mostly Grains, Canola and Corn damaged - furthermore stone fruit in the Alte Land
In the areas affected most, almost all of the crops, such as winter grains, corn, sugar beets, peas and canola were damaged. The first inspections of the fields are already over, since it has to be decided whether a change in crops is reasonable, both economically and and in terms of production, this week. In the area Altes Land Southwest of Hamburg, field crops and stone fruit cultivated on 300 hectares were affected and the insured damages amount to 2.6 million Euros. Germany's largest cultivation area had mostly been spared problems in spring but is now strongly affected by the hail. There is a tendency for businesses which had been hit in the spring to be hit again later. This fear now became true for many producers in central Germany. The general weather situation does not allow an all-clear sign just yet. Further storms and damage are expected.
Source: Vereinigte Hagel