A bungalow pummelled by hail in the hamlet of Enchant. (Mary-Catherine McIntosh/CBC)

More than 1,500 Alberta farmers have filed claims for hail damage to their crops on weekend, according to the provincial Crown corporation that provides crop insurance.

Chris Dyck, manager of insurance operations at Agriculture Financial Services Corp., said more than a million acres were damaged in the storm early Monday and the phones are still ringing with farmers filing new claims.

A normal summer hailstorm will bring in about 200 to 500 insurance claims, he said.

"The damage has been really all over place from light in some areas to severe," Dyck said. "A lot of guys have had all or most of their acres affected by the storm."

Randy Howg, who has been farming in Enchant since 1971, said this was one of the worst storms he has ever seen. (Mary-Catherine McIntosh/CBC)

The damaging hail started west of Olds and travelled through farming communities all the way to the U.S. border.

Farmer Randy Howg, who has been farming in Enchant since 1971, grows sugar beets, wheat and barley. He said a third of his crop was ruined by the storm, but knows others who lost their entire crop.

"We were looking forward to very, very good crops this year and this is very devastating," he said. "We work hard all year long getting water on the land and looking forward to a big harvest and all of a sudden there's not much left here."

Crop insurance won't completely cover his losses, Howg said.

"And you know, that's not what we farm for."