WELD COUNTY, Colo. A third-generation Weld County farmer says hail storms pose a devastating threat to Colorado crops, and to the tradition and pride that come with growing them.Dave Petrocco owns Petrocco Farms in Weld County, where has family has been farming since 1916.It becomes part of your life, and also something that we carry on as a tradition, Petrocco said.Watch Denver7 reporter Ethan Carlson's story in the video player below: Weld County farmer says hail storms threaten crops, livelihood, and traditionThat tradition includes hard work, adaptation, and planning, but not everything is within a farmers control.For Mother Nature, we just cross our fingers and say this has got to be the lucky one. Hail free, he said.Petrocco has seen the damage hail can cause firsthand.Ive seen hail storms so severe that you drive by here the next day, and unless youre the grower, you dont know what crop was there, said Petrocco. Theyre beat down to the soil, and theres nothing left but chopped up, shredded, mushy leaves.Jack Buffington, executive director of the Transportation and Supply Chain Institute at the University of Denver, says Colorado agriculture is under significant strain from multiple directions.Agriculture, it remains a big part of the Colorado economy, and its under a lot of pressure right now, when it comes to weather events, when it comes to the cost of fertilizers, given whats happening with the war, equipment costs, and so forth, Buffington said.Buffington says extreme storms are not likely to affect most prices at the grocery store, but local farms like Petroccos face real financial consequences when crops are lost.It also hurts pride and the tradition of having a healthy, marketable product thats in demand that people want, and so that goes away, and if its something that encompasses your whole job, thats devastating, Petrocco said. When it comes to protecting crops from hail damage, Petrocco says there is little that can be done.Theres only one thing that helps me, and thats prayer. I just got to pray that nothing devastating happens, he said.Still, Petrocco knows his farm will be here for generations to come.In the knowledge that we gathered over the years, we just like to produce, and we like making food, and so thats the reason why we do it, Petrocco said.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less