Valley Farmers Soak Up Recent Rain

For the past six months, the Kings River has run dry. However, recent storms in the Central Valley have changed this drastically as the river is now full, flowing and feeding the valley’s need for water. For Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of Fresno County Farm Bureau, water is more than just an element.

“It’s actually very simple. Water equals jobs. This desert would not bloom without the water that we have that feeds these crops,” Jacobsen said.

Jacobsen said that California, the number one farm state, has endured the worst of the worst from the drought over the past five years.

“It was of historic proportions. In the 125 years of the history of water data here in the San Joaquin Valley, it was extraordinarily bad, a very difficult time,” Jacobsen said.

Now, valley farmers are soaking up the recent rain, and so are their crops. Fresno State Farm manager David Sieperda is one farmer reaping the benefits.

“Heavy rain is so good for the valley. It helps replenish our aquifers and just is good for the soil. It helps all of our crops grow this season early on,” Sieperda said.

While the storms help solve some issues that the drought created, they also leave behind their own set of problems.

John Paul, General Manager of ESK Farm, describes the storms as “bittersweet”.

“You know we are in the crucial stage of development right now,” Paul said. “So anyone that is developing ranches and planting new orchards are at a stand still. Even picking the citrus, the guys can’t pick because they can’t be picking wet fruit. It causes problems condition wise as it’s processed and put into a box, and for us, the ground is too wet to play with.”

With water reservoirs almost full, many valley farmers are concerned with losing valuable water still anticipated to come from melting snowpack.

“We spent the last 20 years worrying about other things when we should have been worrying about infrastructure and how to save water,” Paul said.

With more storms and melting snow on the way, farmers can expect a boom in crop production.

“2017 without a doubt is going to be one for the record books,” Jacobsen said.