Wheat crops took a beating and in some cases were stripped bare of their grain after a trio of hail storms ravaged Canterbury arable farms. Photo: suppliedArable growers are reeling from up to $10 million in crop losses after a trio of widespread hail storms whipped through Canterbury farms. A disaster relief insurance scheme, compulsory for wheat growers, run by the United Wheatgrowers New Zealand (UWG), covers only feed and milling wheat crops. "We have had three back-to-back hail storms coming through Christmas and we are up to 73 claims. He said losses varied from 5% of wheat crops to a few of them being completely written off — unseen before.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 20, 2026 16:19 UTC