Many farmers across California are in the middle of tomato harvesting right now. Frustratingly, after a long period of drought concerns, recent rains are now causing a different issue: too much water.
A grower outside Stockton is in the middle of his tomato harvest, but he says due to threatening storms, it's a race against time before his crops start to turn. Turnto23.com explains how too much moisture creates mold, and canneries do not want that. They will send the trucks back loaded. This could impact millions of tons of tomatoes and could lead to higher prices for consumers in an attempt to recover from shortages.
Bay Area farmers worried about their strawberries
The recent rains have left a lot of work for some Bay Area farmers. Strawberries are notoriously vulnerable to heavy rainfalls. One grower explains: "I can see the skin is sort of recessed and the seeds are protruding. That's where the skin has been injured by the physical droplets of water."
This means there are losses. The damaged berries are squashed on site. But there's good news as well. As fields get a chance to dry out, the land and the reservoirs get the benefit of the rain. This might lead to an unexpected bumper crop
Source: cbsnews.com