Hail adjusters are scrambling to deal with a large number of crop damage claims from late August and early September.

The president of the Canadian Crop Hail Association, Scott McQueen, says crop damage claims from hail total over 1,500 from widespread storms in late August and early September.

He says the costly storms ranged from Assiniboia through Yorkton.

He says the losses are in the millions of dollars from hailstones that ranged in size from pebble to golf ball.

He says the cost per claim is close to an all-time high.

The number of claims is average this year.

McQueen is asking farmers to leave checkstrips in their field to enable adjusters to assess the damage.