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<br />purpose of rainfall enhancement. The importance of seeding for hail suppression has always been <br />the major thrust of the Program due to funding limitations and the amount of loss that can occur <br />with a severe hail storm. <br /> <br />In contrast, the Kansas Water Office evaluation of the hail suppression component of the Program <br />was very positive. The estimated percentage decrease in hail damage to crops in the target area was <br />27 percent, and resulted in an estimated benefit of approximately $60,000,000 to the six county <br />target area for the 1979-1993 time period or $4,000,000 per year, after the expenses to operate the <br />Program have been deducted. These figures are based on reduced hail damage to crops and do not <br />include any estimate of the savings due to reduction in hail damage to dwellings, personal property, <br />wildlife or other natural resources. <br /> <br />Hai110sses within the state can be both variable and staggering. In 1993, the State of Kansas <br />sustained $43,418,000 of insured crop-hail damage, its greatest dollar loss of insured crops due to <br />hail damage since 1948. Since not all fanners insure their crops for hiill damage, the total dollar loss <br />for crop-hail damage was, of course, much greater than $43,418,000 in 1993. Although 1993 was <br />also the worst year for crop-hail damage to the Western Kansas Weather Modification Prograni <br />target area counties, it should be noted that the insured crop-hail damage loss for Sheridan County, <br />a control area county, was $4,542,000 in 1993, which exceeded the total crop-hail damage loss for <br />all six target area counties. <br /> <br />From the outset the original designers of the Western Kansas Weather Modification l'rogram knew <br />the Program could never eliminate all crop-hail damage and they never claimed to be able to do so. <br />Originally, the Program was designed around the best use of the available funding, a concept that <br />has allowed it to expand or contract each year depending on the number of participating counties. <br />Despite Program funding limitations, the Kansas Water Office has concluded that the dollar value <br />of the crop-hail damage reduction, to date, has been very significant. <br /> <br />As a result of this recently completed evaluation, the Kansas Water Office plans to request adequate <br />funding in Fiscal Year 1996 to match Western Kansas county participation in hail suppression <br />weather modification activities at $10,000 per participating county; . <br /> <br />6 <br />