Monterey County officials are continuing efforts to assess March storm damage. At the most recent meeting of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo detailed how the area has been impacted by extreme weather this year. Growers were working to address damage caused by January rains and flooding when another series of storms brought additional challenges.
“A lot of the damage from January took place along the Salinas Valley, primarily in southern Monterey County,” Hidalgo explained. “We estimated at that time, $236 million in damages to our agricultural growers and an impact to nearly 16,000 acres because of flooding along the Salinas River.”
Similar to what was done after the January storms, another survey is being conducted to gauge March storm damage to agricultural operations. The information will be used as an initial assessment of possible economic support. Early estimates indicate that damages from the March storms are going to be larger than what was seen in January. “At this point we’re thinking that we’re looking at an additional $450 million to $500 million in damages because of the March storms. We’re looking at potentially about 20,000 acres being impacted,” said Hidalgo.
Some of the acreage impacted by the March storms will be acreage that was initially affected back in January. Hidalgo explained that growers had an opportunity to replant during a break in the weather in February. Over the course of the next month, Hidalgo expects to get a better picture of the actual scope of damage related to the March storms.
In looking to the future, Hidalgo said that one of the concerns he is hearing from area growers is the maintenance of rivers. Trees growing in the middle of rivers and other debris create problems when river flows pick up. “It becomes difficult when growers and the county and state agencies cannot do cleanup ahead of winter storms because that just reduces river flow. It causes the river to overflow and impact not just agricultural areas, but also a huge impact on our communities,” Hidalgo noted.
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