‘Strong start’: Fresno County grower reacts to first major storm of the season

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The wet weather in the valley is having an impact on Fresno County’s agriculture industry.

While farmers usually welcome the rain, the mid-October storm may not have come at the ideal time for some growers. 

“It’s been a very complicated fall thus far, which really has made it more difficult when it comes to the drying of things such as raisins, almonds, and so on,” Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen said. 

The San Joaquin Valley has already seen a little bit of rainfall this fall, but nothing as significant as this week’s system. It marks the first substantial rainfall of the new water year, which started Oct. 1. Jacobsen said some farmers may still have crops like cotton or pistachios growing in their fields waiting for harvest.

“We’ve known for approximately a week now that it was going to be a very significant event. That really helps us in preparation when it comes time to try to get some of these crops out of the field as quickly as possible,” he added. 

Still, it’s a notably strong start for the season, especially considering the system brought snow to the Sierra Nevada, which helps build the state’s snowpack early on. 

“That is the snowpack is what we rely upon for next year. And so the fact that we are seeing some significant amounts up there of heavy snow really helps us to really kick off the year to a strong start,” Jacobsen said. 

Another concern was flooding, which Jacobsen said he did not hear reports of happening on farms in Fresno County.