massive hailstones hammering down in thaxted last week. robert, i ve never seen damage like this before. well, neither have i. first time, absolutely devastated. it looks as if someone has come through here here with a flail. eight days on, robert still can t take it in. the scale of the damage on his 200 acre farm is immense. we hope it s a one off. we are having trouble getting our heads around it. we just. we don t know what to do now. we ve never seen this devastation. this is our year s work. to us, they are more than money. we look after them, we tend them all year, it s. it s quite hurtful, you know? this is what the crop should look like. it is due for harvest in about three weeks. but take a look at these. battered, bruised, a pod split open. they reckon they have lost around 50% of the crop in this field.
this is what the crop should look like. it is due for harvest in about three weeks. but take a look at these. battered, bruised, a pod split open. they reckon they have lost around 50% of the crop in this field. nearby, an estimated 90% loss in a field of oilseed rape. smashed from pods, the seed has now germinated creating a green carpet on the ground. and in a field of oats once destined for the breakfast table, a similar story. i have been working crops in north west essex as an independent agronomist for 35 years and i have never seen devastation like we are seeing this winter oat field here. we think we have about 90% of our oat crop that will be harvested in two or three weeks time. it is on the ground and we haven t got machines to hoover it up. 12 farms in a ten mile stretch of land barely half a mile wide were hit by the storm,
battered, bruised, a pod split open. they reckon they have lost around 50% of the crop in this field. nearby, an estimated 90% loss in a field of oilseed rape. smashed from pods, the seed has now germinated creating a green carpet on the ground. and in a field of oats once destined for the breakfast table, a similar story. i have been working crops in north west essex as an independent agronomist for 35 years and i have never seen devastation like we are seeing this winter oat field here. we think we have lost about 90% of our oat crop that will be harvested in two or three weeks time. it is on the ground and we haven t got machines to hoover it up. 12 farms in a ten mile stretch of land barely half a mile wide were hit by the storm, just weeks before harvest. the losses are estimated to run to hundreds of thousands of pounds. defra have a disaster fund so farms that suffered severe