Croppers count Narrabri, Moree hail losses

Some cotton crops were completely wiped out, while others suffered severe hail damage.

Sorghum farmers who were expected to begin harvest in the next few weeks will reassess whether crops are worth harvesting.

The winds brought down trees and ripped through sheds, while hailstones pelted down damaging houses, cars and machinery.

At least two horses were killed and many more injured, along with birds and native wildlife.

Between 600 and 700 hectares of cotton has varying degrees of damage, according to Cotton Seed Distributors extension and development agronomist Robert Eveleigh.

"Some crops are wiped out, but then there are some that have minimal damage," he said.

"This is the worst late-season hail we've seen for many years. It's at the stage where everybody has spent all their money on the crop except for picking."

Cotton grower Lach Melbourne, "Noonameena", Narrabri, had about 40pc of his crop damaged from hail a few weeks ago - now he's looking at 90pc of the crop with hail damage.

"We would have started picking this weekend and the second defoliation was to go on today," Mr Melbourne said.

The same storm hit areas east of Moree, with some farmers near Pallamallawa dubbing the event Cyclone Pally.

Moree consultant Brad Cogan, Cogan Agronomic Services, said late mung beans had also been affected near Moree, along with cotton and sorghum.

"It was from Terry Hie Hie all the way through to Pallamallawa and then through Croppa Creek and North Star, so it's a big summer crop area," he said.

"There's definitely some significant crop yield loss, as well as damages to sheds, silos, field bins, houses, vehicles, augers and fences."

Farmers in the Moree area received between 25mm and 85mm, giving them a silver lining for winter crops.

"From a soil moisture profile perspective the end result there is pretty good, but it'd be much better if it was from here to Walgett."