USA: Strawberry fields flooded in California’s Central Coast communities

Published Mar 22, 2023

Tridge summary

A broken levee is having a huge impact on California's farming communities in the Watsonville and Salinas areas. This region is estimated to grow about one-third of California's strawberries. A levee that ruptured in the nearby Pajaro river last Friday caused more than 8,000 people to evacuate and flooded hundreds of acres of strawberries. It is estimated about a fifth of California strawberry farms in the Watsonville and Salinas areas have been flooded.

Original content

At this point, it is unknown if the plants will be able to recover. In the Pajaro Valley, strawberries were planted last fall, which means the berries would have hit stores this summer. The wet fields are hard to imagine as California farmers have been impacted by drought for many years. However, this winter, the state has witnessed everything from intense rain storms to snow storms and flooding. While strawberries are a key crop in this area, other crops like lettuce and other greens are also impacted. Photo credit: Driscoll's Many farmworkers had to evacuate their homes and are now without jobs as the fields can't be accessed. Driscoll's, a family-owned company with strong roots in the Pajaro Valley, posted on LinkedIn how their employees, independent growers, farmworkers, and residents of the community have been impacted. The company's employees have helped raise thousands of dollars to enable residents of impacted communities to purchase water and personal hygiene products. ...
Source: Hortidaily
By clicking “Accept Cookies,” I agree to provide cookies for statistical and personalized preference purposes. To learn more about our cookies, please read our Privacy Policy.