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Making Decisions With Hail-Damaged Row Crops

Jul 31, 2025

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By Sara Bauder

A recent hail event that swept across the eastern part of South Dakota left a severe hail path length of about 225 miles stretching from Lake Oahe to west-central Minnesota (weather.gov). Late-season hail damage leaves growers wondering what to do next.

Where to Start

Before making any drastic decisions about your fields, be sure to consider the following:

Allow seven to 10 days for plants recover to assess injury as long as some pods or ears are still in-tact.
Check with your crop insurance agent before making any decisions regarding hail-damaged fields.
Think twice before applying any fungicides to protect hail-damaged crops. Fungicides are designed to protect against fungal plant diseases. Wounds in growing plants are prone to bacterial infection, which fungicides do not protect against.
Check your previously used pesticide labels. Before determining alternative uses for hail-damaged fields, harvest and forage utilization intervals must be checked on all applied pesticides. In addition, check rotation intervals before planting another crop; for a quick look-up on herbicide rotation restrictions, view our publication, Herbicide Rotation Restrictions.

Source : sdstate.edu

Video: We’ll NEVER Use These Grain Bins Again!

A huge change is happening on the farm — our new grain bin has officially arrived, and that means we’ll never use some of our old grain bins again. In today's video, we take delivery of the new grain bin, look back at the old bins that have been part of our farm for years, and talk about why this upgrade is such a big deal for harvest, grain storage, and the future of our family farm.

This is more than just a grain bin delivery. It’s the end of an era and the start of a major farm upgrade that will completely change how we handle corn during harvest. From old grain storage to a brand-new bin setup, this project is one of the biggest improvements we’ve made at the farm.

Join me as the new grain bin shows up, the bin project continues, and we prepare for a new chapter in harvest efficiency on our Minnesota family farm.