Producers who have crops that survived recent moisture and flooding are hoping to avoid hail damage.

However, new stats indicate that a lot of them aren't that fortunate.

Hail claims reported on Saskatchewan farms are up substantially.  The Canadian Crop Hail Association says claims jumped from 650 at the end of June to more than 3200 by mid-July.

Chairman Scott Byers says the biggest storm to date was July 1st where there were a lot of claims in Yorkton, Swift Current, and southeast areas.  He confirms that claims are well above average, saying at this time last year, just 1650 claims were filed.

So far this month, more than 500 claims have been made in Alberta.  Manitoba claims remain light with the majority coming as a result of recent thunderstorms.