Hail damage to Dutch greenhouses

An old Dutch saying goes “Als het onweert in mei, valt er vaak hagel bij”, or when it thunders in May, there's often hail. And proving there is some truth to old wisdom, the recent severe weather was indeed accompanied by hail at night last week, especially in the eastern part of the country. As a result, damage was done to greenhouses in 't Ven near Venlo.

"Up until now, 15 greenhouse owners have reported damage", insurance company Interpolis reports. "The damaged greenhouses are all in the Venlo area, where experts are now visiting the companies to identify the damage. Together with the growers they will take measures to limit damage to the crops as much as possible. It's too early to say anything about the extent of the damage."

Photo: LTO Glaskracht

Rijnland Nursery
One of the hardest hit growers is plant and strawberry nursery Rijnland. Due to the hail damage, they will be forced give up on the upright cultivation of strawberries, according to GFactureel.

At Gipmans, by far the largest greenhouse horticulturist in the area, the damage was not too bad. For the time being, deliveries can go on as usual, but the impact will be felt further down the line. "It's always disappointing, whether or not you are well-insured," the grower says, "but it could have been much worse."

Across the border
The damage was limited due to the local character of the thunderstorms. In Germany there were more reports of bad weather. Gartenbau-Versicherung indicates there was 3 million euros of damage done, and the insurer received about 70 reports from North Rhine-Westphalia, TASPO reports. One tomato grower will lose their entire crop because of the storm. However, the majority of these reports came from non-greenhouse horticulture companies. Especially in the south of Straelen, right next to horticultural area 't Ven in Venlo, some plant breeders have been affected.