Each year thousands of Corn Belt farmers, as they nurse their crops from kernel to ear watch gathering ram clouds with a hopeful eye. And each year, instead of the gentle shower of their anticipation, many of these farmers see the dreaded hailstorm come pounding across the country-side, leaving in its wake a path of twisted, bruised and broken corn plants.

Depending upon the stage of development and the apparent severity of the damage, there follows the indecision as to whether to replant, replace with another crop or hope that following conditions will be favorable to the damaged field. Or, if the farmer is one of the large percentage of middlewestern farmers who carry hail insurance, there follows the problem of a satisfactory adjustment.

Some idea of the importance of this problem to Iowa farmers is found in the fact that annual hail damage in this state alone often runs to more than 4.5 million dollars, with more than one-third of the state annually reporting some damage from this source. It has been estimated that farmers in Iowa have one chance in six of having crops damaged by hail.