California Citrus Growers Suffer Devastating Losses Amidst Historic Floods

What’s typically a joyful citrus harvest season this time of year in Central California has transformed into a massive cleanup effort as destructive floods have decimated the state’s oranges and mandarins. Standing water, murky sediment and debris now fill much of the area. Several levee breaks carried away newly planted trees, destroyed irrigation systems and took with them valuable topsoil across the farming landscape.

However, 60% of the state’s citrus crop has already been harvested. But the after-flood effects have caused the rest of the harvest to slow and export windows to be missed. Even so, Casey Creamer, president of California Citrus Mutual, says the average consumer will likely not see an impact on supply and prices due to stocked packinghouses.

Read more on California flooding here.