Driving through Kern County, it's plain to see the area is firmly rooted in agriculture with fields of almonds and other various crops, but Tropical Storm Hilary is now creating troubles for farmers in California's Central Valley well after its exit. 23ABC's Sam Hoyle spoke with one almond farmer to find out how the rain is impacting her harvest schedule.
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00:00 With tropical storm Hillary now a thing of the past,
00:02 farmers are left to assess their situations.
00:04 23 ABC's Sam Hoyle spoke with an almond farmer in Shafter
00:08 to see how things are going in her orchard.
00:11 - It's clear to see as you drive through Kern County,
00:13 it is firmly rooted in agriculture.
00:16 And the recent tropical storm Hillary
00:17 is creating hangups for some farmers in the aftermath.
00:20 - There's supposed to be this like brown color
00:23 when they're dry.
00:24 This green color means they have too much moisture.
00:26 So a huller won't accept this.
00:28 - Jenny Holterman is a farmer and owner
00:30 of Almond Girl in Shafter,
00:32 which produces several kinds of almonds.
00:33 And said while farmers knew to prepare for the storm,
00:36 Hillary's early arrival caused issues.
00:39 - The storm wasn't supposed to come until Sunday afternoon,
00:42 I think was the first prediction,
00:44 but it came Saturday afternoon and all day on Sunday.
00:48 And for those that had almonds on the ground,
00:51 we had some that we weren't able to come in
00:53 and pick up all of them.
00:55 Our almonds got wet and our ground
00:58 is pretty saturated as well.
01:00 So we now have to deal with those impacts.
01:06 - Though the storm is well over
01:08 and farmers like Holterman should be knee deep
01:10 into their harvest season,
01:12 she says she and many farmers
01:14 are now having to play the waiting game
01:15 as they wait for things to dry.
01:17 - We have to let them be on the ground until they dry up.
01:20 Unfortunately, almonds sit on the ground to dry
01:23 and the ground is saturated.
01:25 So the ground is wet and the almonds
01:28 can't necessarily dry out as fast.
01:31 - As far as the financial impacts associated with the storm,
01:33 Kern County Ag Commissioner, Glenn Fankhauser,
01:36 tells 23 ABC that they do not have a concrete estimate
01:39 at this moment and it will take time
01:41 for them to fully assess the situation.
01:43 In the meantime, Holterman says
01:44 she's being optimistic about her crops.
01:47 - Farmers are always optimistic
01:49 and hope that it doesn't affect us.
01:52 You know, we only do harvest once a year.
01:54 This is the culmination of our years of work.
01:57 So we hope it's not an issue.
01:59 - In Shafter, Sam Hoyle, 23 ABC News connecting you.