Two weeks ago South Tyrol in German speaking North Italy, encountered heavy snowfall. The weather was not expected in this intensity and the extreme wet snow caused regional wide damage to the fruit harvest, as many fruit plantations equipped with hail netting had removed this, and they were left open to suffer damage. "Fruit plantations use hail nets to protect the fruit until the end of the harvest because for years we have had hail damage to our ripe harvest around the 10th of October," emphasised fruit specialist Hermann Kuenz from 'Tirol Obst'. Hail nets also protect against bird attack which in the area of Innsbruck is a problem and is why growers also choose to use the nets for longer. These nets are resistant to 5 to 10 inches of snow, but not to the extreme weather conditions there were recently.
In total approximately 22 hectares of orchards in South Tyrol were hit hard and 15 hectares were completely destroyed. The damage is extra problematic for growers because plantations take years of intensive work before delivering a decent return. Now growers have to start again from scratch and make substantial investments. It takes about five years before a fruit plantation produces a good harvest.
Some companies even run the risk of closure because of the damage. People will try to get credit from emergency funds and investments so growers will have a future. Fruit plantations which used hail nets are insured against hail and storm damage, but not against snowfall. This is something they cannot insure against.