<p>Tree fruit growers throughout the Okanagan Valley will be paid an estimated $15 to $18 million in insurance claims for hailstorms and spring frost damages this year, according to the Kelowna Capital News.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Gary Falk, director of the business risk management branch of the provincial agriculture ministry, notes that the temperamental weather continued long past the normal hail period of mid-July to mid-August with a September 30 hailstorm that affected growers throughout the Okanagan Valley.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Kelowna Capital News reports that $2 million has already been paid out to growers who sustained damage, but Falk says many growers will defer their claims until next year when they receive their ‘packout’ numbers, and know what they will receive for this season’s fruit, and how much of it had to be diverted to juice, or was downgraded because of damage. Falk says that 800 hail claims were registered this year with his branch.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Although crop insurance adjusters still have to look at damage related to production, 75% to 80% of the damage was from hailstorms that moved through the valley during the summer, including one in mid-August that devastated the KLO Road, Spiers, and Swamp Road areas. In the southern part of the valley, spring frost resulted in crop reductions and damage and cherries in some parts of the valley were damaged by rain.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Falk claims that another half million dollars worth of damage was sustained by the grape industry as well, largely to the Coronation table grape crop, mostly from the mid-August hailstorm.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> It’s estimated this year’s payout will be more than 50% above the premiums paid.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue our coverage on the aftermath of the temperamental season in the Okanagan Valley.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.kelownacapnews.com/news/227140041.html" target="_new"> Kelowna Capital News </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
