Hail is like a ghost, says fruit farmer Karen Whitty.

It creeps in, creeps out and is isolated in nature.

But there's nothing intangible about the damage in its wake.

Ken Slingerland, a tender fruit and grape specialist at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said wherever the hail and heavy rain struck in this week's intense storms, it struck hard.

"It's been very challenging. Every time a cloud goes by we seem to get an inch of rain," he said. "We're very close to being too saturated."

That makes it hard for growers to get into vineyards in particular to tend to the grape harvest.

He said about 500 to 800 acres of tender fruit out of 25,000 planted in the province were heavily damaged in a swath between St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake, and isolated pockets such as in Grimsby.

Hail pummelled the 12 acres of fruit trees at the Bridgman farm in Winona.

Anne Bridgman said her family has operated the farm for 200 years. She took it over in 1989, running it as a pick-your-own operation, and has never seen hail before.

"I've already had it twice this year. It's just sinking in now. Realistically, most of the peaches and plums are damaged. It's very frustrating and very discouraging."

Len Troup, chairman of the Ontario Tender Fruit Marketing Board, said that industry-wide, the peach and plum crop that has just started hitting fruit stands and grocery stores is of the highest quality, with good size, thanks to all the rain this year.

But he said that just adds to the disappointment for those farmers affected by the string of storms.

Whitty and her husband, Doug, were preparing a big celebration to mark the St. Catharines-area farm's centennial this year when the hailstorms interrupted their bumper crop.

"I feel like the Israelites," she shouted over phone yesterday as thunder crashed during yet another storm.

She said the farm uses several locations, totalling about 150 acres, and that has helped avoid a total wipeout.

"One peach orchard we're going to have to walk away from. Another we're going to sort and pick," she said.

The Whittys sell their fruit through a farm stand and to wineries. They also sell pies and jams.

"We're going to assess everything," Karen said.

"Consumers are still going to get beautiful fruit this year. As an industry we're learning to focus on the positive: let's make sure what we offer is No. 1 and Grade A. We will continue to do that."

lmarr@thespec.com

905-526-3992