March 16,2023-
This photo(BELOW) provided by the California Strawberry Commission shows a flooded Pajaro River area in Pajaro, Calif. on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. California’s strawberry farms have been hit hard by this year’s winter storms. Industry experts estimate about a fifth of strawberry farms in the Watsonville and Salinas areas have been flooded since a levee ruptured last week and another river overflowed. (California Strawberry Commission via AP)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Perhaps not surprisingly, strawberry production for the Sant Maria growing area is way down this season as a parade of storms has soaked fields for weeks. Likewise for the Salinas growing area.
Here is the latest chart on production showing the Oxnard ares has not been as hard hit. Season long, Santa Maria has produced just 25% of the berry flats compared to a year ago. Salinas is producing no flats.Info from National Berry Report.””
From Farm Progress
After storms in December and January caused over $200 million in crop damage from wind, rain and floods, damage from recent flooding from the Pajaro and Salinas rivers in Monterey County has caused hundreds of millions of dollars more in losses, the California Strawberry Commission reports.
The latest disaster comes as farmers had borrowed money to prepare the fields and were weeks away from beginning to harvest, said Rick Tomlinson, the commission’s president. As soon as the cleanup is complete, farmers will begin the process of preparing the fields and starting over, he said.
Disaster relief and emergency financial assistance will be critical for both the residential community and the farming operations, he said.
