Hail can devastate a field in just a few minutes, flattening crops and causing bruising or loss of leaves. The initial sight of the hail-damaged field may lead producers to assume the crop is a complete loss. But according to this article from the Indiana Prairie Farmer, hail damage to soybeans (and most likely other crops too) may look worse than it ends up being. Hail damage, especially early in the growing cycle, can often be overcome by new growth lower on the plants. Damage later in the growing cycle would be much harder to overcome because of the advanced stage of the plant at that point. If your field gets damaged by hail, then it is important to document damage right away in case the plants do not respond, but you may be surprised at how they look a week later.
