![]() ![]() Meanwhile, parts of Santa Barbara County, where many lemon and avocado trees grow on slopes, saw more than 8 inches of rain in a 12-hour period. Some fields were idle, while others contained strawberries and newly planted vegetables, according to Norm Groot, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau. ![]() In Monterey County, the Salinas River overflowed its banks and broke through levees, flooding agricultural fields throughout the Salinas Valley. Those plantings would typically be harvested in late April, but “they’re just not going to be there,” Bianchi added. “All of those should be going in pretty regular right now,” he said. In addition to immediate crop losses, Bianchi said continuous rain caused the ranch to miss plantings for broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce. “Across the whole area, there’s a lot of acreage that’s underwater.” “There’s going to be a lot of fields that will need to be disked under,” said Richard Bianchi, ranch manager at Sabor Farms in San Benito County. Safety testing after the flooding can delay replanting for weeks. “They’ve been underwater for days.”īecause flood waters often contain sewage and other debris, growers are required to destroy crops, including berries, leafy greens and other vegetables, the edible portions of which are exposed to the water. Peixoto estimated he lost a hundred acres of broccoli, cabbage, chard and kale. “We have creeks that ran over, lakes that overfilled and backed up into the fields.” Storms that hammered California for more than two weeks flooded many fields, closed roads and prompted evacuations. “There’s quite a bit of property under water,” said Dick Peixoto, owner of Lakeside Organic Gardens in Watsonville. On the Central Coast, flooding from the San Lorenzo River engulfed swaths of Santa Cruz County, submerging residential areas and spilling into farmlands. 31, winds and showers destroyed crops and flooded vegetable fields with filthy water. The storms that hammered California for more than two weeks caused widespread flooding, closed roads, created power outages and prompted evacuations in numerous counties.Īs the state received roughly five times its average rainfall, the deluge offered water relief for drought-stricken farmlands. Farmers fretted as uncaptured stormwater poured into the ocean. However, the torrential rains also inflicted a harsh toll, with showers, mudslides and fierce winds combining to ruin thousands of acres of crops and wreaking havoc on orchards. 18 report, the California Farm Bureau Federation reported the weather events piled deep snow in the Sierra Nevada, provided some relief for depleted reservoirs and brightened water-supply prospects for agriculture. Ken Mitchell of Elk Grove inspects a giant oak tree, felled by flooding and strong winds, which crushed part of the Mitchell family’s walnut orchard. The historic storms damaged crops from broccoli to strawberries in the Salinas Valley. While the water from the storms that hit California during the past two weeks brought some hope for agriculture’s water needs, it also damaged crops. ![]() Storms bring water and havoc to California farms. ![]()
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