Crop Scene Investigation 56: A five-alarm call from Steve's alfalfa field - Solved

Monday, April 6, 2015

by BERNARD TOBIN

There was no smoking gun in Steve's field, but certified crop consultant Mervyn Erb had enough evidence to finger a late-night hail storm as the culprit that carved a swath of destruction through the farmer's alfalfa.

Several facts led to Erb's conclusion. The first key was the damage the alfalfa had sustained. He had seen the same type of injury a year earlier in 2013, when a widespread hail storm ripped though Huron County and badly damaged 6,000 acres of corn and soybeans from Drysdale to Hensall.

"When you see hail on corn stalks, you get either breakage or bruising. You also get a great big white bruise on the stalk and, after many days, that bruise turns brown," says Erb. "When I saw the bruised stems with the whitish and brown discolourations in Steve's field, it took me back to those damaged corn fields I had seen the previous year."

Over the years, Erb has witnessed some wild weather with narrow bands of hail that touched down in small areas. Erb believes the storm that passed through Steve's farm just before the farmer spotted the damage produced a small band of hail that ripped through the alfalfa field. The violent nature of the storm, which woke Steve's grandchildren from their sleep, would be consistent with a springtime hail storm.

The fact that it happened at 2 a.m. is why no one witnessed the destruction it heaped upon Steve's field. And the smoking gun had melted away by the time Steve spotted the damage.

Congratulations to Kevin Williams, Lisle, Ont. for his correct answer.

CSI will return in the fall. BF