Published in The Ararat Advocate, Ararat's weekly newspaper published by West Vic News Pty Ltd.
A FREAK storm on Sunday has flattened hundreds of acres of crop in the Langi Logan area ahead of what was going to be a promising harvest.
Mininera farmer Richard Bibby owns 1,000 acres on Tatyoon North Road where 50 per cent of his canola and oat crops are now awaiting assessment after the “devastating” blow.
Mr Bibby was at his property as the storm clouds rolled towards him, watching on from his ute as strong winds, heavy rain, and hail set in.
“It came through at about quarter-to-five Sunday afternoon. It looked like a thunderstorm building and then all of a sudden there was a loud roar, wind change and it eventually turned into a mini cyclone I suppose you’d call it,” he said.
“Crops are looking really good and unfortunately, Mother Nature's come back to haunt us by flattening 500 acres of crop. We will now wait for an assessor to come in and assess the damage.”
Neighbouring farmers are dealing with a similar situation with their crops also severely damaged.
“It's come through in a strip from the Langi Logan direction. It's hard to say how many acres have been damaged, but there are quite a few farmers in the region,” Mr Bibby said.
“I’m one of the lucky ones, I've got insurance, but some haven't. We'll get assessed and hopefully get a bit of a money-back and we'll reload for next year.”
He estimates he will miss out on at least 50 per cent of yield in some places, probably higher.