Johannesburg – Edenville farmer, Heinz Theron suffered major losses on Monday after 300 of his sheep perished following severe hailstorm in the area.
The small township situated in the northern Free State on Monday experienced hail rain of 100 millimeters which elevated to 1021 millibar pressure.
“All of a sudden the clouds came up and then it was like it never even rained and it started hailing and hailing,” Theron said. Theron discovered the lifeless sheep on Tuesday morning.
He said the loss of his herd is one of the most devastating incidents that has ever happened to him.
“I have never seen anything like it,” he says, adding this is going to bring more woes for his struggling business.
“The large volume of hail rain caused significant damage, and this also affected our homes and barns in our area,” he says.
He added that he has received support from the community, where messiahs are donating with the little they have.
Theron also thanked the Edenville District Farmers’ Association for coming to rescue by pleading with members of the public to make donations.
According to the Vrystaad Landbou’s Dr Jack Armour, the calculated loss of the herd is close to R500 000 to R600 000.
“The overall loss for this horrific incident is over hundreds of rands, from our thorough check, we realized the herd were sheared in the grassland and frozen due to the high volume of hail,” Armour said.
Vrystaad Landbou serves as a voluntary membership organisation for commercial farmers in the Free State province. It also provides safety tips for farmers, and support farming management by regularly keeping them informed about risks in the industry.
