HOWELL, Mich. (WXYZ) — "It came down so hard that it sounded like I was standing under a freight train. It was unbelievable," said farmer C.J. Turner of Bentley Lake Farms in Marion Township near Howell.
Turner, 64, has been farming for 45 years and he said he's never seen anything like the hail storm that destroyed fields and fields of fruits and vegetables, from strawberries and tomatoes to potatoes and pumpkins.
"The hail basically annihilated everything," Turner told 7 Action News Friday as he drove us around his primary property on Cedar Point Road.
Turner said hail is a farmer's four-letter word. And Thursday's hailstorm slammed much of the Howell area.
"My emotions come and go," he said. "One minute I'm fine. The next minute, I'm a little teary-eyed but I try to keep a positive attitude," Turner said.
Turner's daughter, Heidi Baron, said she's never seen plants that look like they have been shredded.
"This is nuts!" she said. "I've never seen plants like this."
Turner said he's using flats to plant seeds and he plans to use greenhouses to get them started.
"Some things I'll be able to recover from this year, some things I won't. It's too late. I can't replant my potatoes. I can't replant my onions. Certain things you don't have any more time," he said.
The losses are in the hundreds of thousands and while friends have wanted to start online fundraisers for Bentley Lake Farms, Turner declined.
All Turner is asking is that customers continue to support them when they're able to get their produce stands stocked back up.
The family is also encouraging people to support other local farmers, especially those devastated by the storm.
