Picture
FRESNO, Calif. — A storm dumped more than an inch of rain on parts of California's agricultural heartland in less than five hours, flooding streets, uprooting trees and soaking a bumper crop of raisins drying in vineyards.

The storm hit Tuesday in Northern California, then swept through the central portions before bringing rainfall to Southern California by midmorning on Wednesday.

A live web cam at China Peak in the central Sierra Nevada showed snow accumulation on the slopes. Squaw Valley USA reported eight inches of new snow overnight, with up to nine more predicted by Thursday. The snow forced the closing of the 9,300-foot Tioga Pass through Yosemite National Park.

"It is an early winter storm. It is not unheard of to have one this early," said Cindy Bean, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford.

The storm was especially painful to California's agriculture industry.

Leading up to the deluge, alfalfa growers worked to bale late cuttings, and cotton growers were scrambling to harvest before the storm hit. Rain can soak bolls and cause the cotton to fall out, making it unusable.

Wine grape growers, who are in the midst of harvest, generally did not expect the rain to be as much of a problem as it would have been if it had come earlier, when mold can develop. In Napa County, only cabernet sauvignon remains in the fields, and its thick skin serves as a protection, growers said. On the Central Coast, growers in the midst of harvest said the rain would serve to wash the dust from the grapes, but likely would not cause damage.


Source: By TRACIE CONE 

The Associated Press

Add Comment
 
 
As raisin harvest peaks, growers see high demand
Picture
A combination of factors that include a late crop, a shortage of harvest workers and demand for Thompson seedless grapes for both raisins and wine production has prompted a price war that benefits farmers as harvest in the San Joaquin Valley continues at full swing. Thompson seedless growers have found themselves in an enviable position of having to decide whether to sell their grapes as raisins—$1,700 per ton—or grapes for crush—$250 to $265 per ton. It takes about four and a half tons of fresh grapes to make a ton of raisins. "Right now, we are in a situation where we have stable pricing and there is the opportunity that the price could go up based on field activity by some of the processors that need more raisins," said raisin grower Steven Spate of Fresno. "We work for one payment a year. Our entire investment is laying on that one thin piece of paper out there."

Growers report that the crop is picking out heavier than expected, although the brix (sugar content) has been running behind normal, which has delayed harvest by a week to 10 days. Because of the delay in crop development, harvest time was compressed in mid-September as raisin growers raced to get their crop on the ground ahead of a federal crop insurance deadline. Sept. 20 was the cutoff date for crop insurance for farmers using paper trays to dry raisin grapes. Growers harvesting their grapes by machine had five more days to harvest their grapes and still meet the crop insurance deadline. "There is still a lot of picking going on, but most people did get their raisins on the ground ahead of the deadline," said Glen Goto, chief executive officer for the Raisin Bargaining Association in Fresno. "But driving around, I still see plenty of crews out there working, so those people are in jeopardy of not having insurance."

Add Comment
 
 
Picture

We are happy to announce that Arat Co. will be exhibiting at the upcoming ANUGA in Koln, Germany during 8th to 12th October 2011.
Our booth is located at Hall 1.1 Aisle D No. 32
Add Comment