Crews have now started harvest, but observers say the volume remains far behind last year at this time. The California Farm Bureau reports fruit quality is good, but plums prefer warmer weather.
Farmers say they believe the crop may turn out to be lighter than average. Some orchards also suffered hail damage. California farmers produce 95-percent of the plums grown in the U.S.
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Rice farmers have finished planting their crops. Growers say they finished two to three weeks later than average. The State Farm Bureau reports, the cool, rainy spring kept fields too wet to till, which delayed the start of planting.
Farmers say they're concerned the weather could produce more weeds this summer. Later-than-usual rice planting could also cause problems in the fall.
Some of the crop won't mature until October or November, and could suffer damage if autumn rains begin early.
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Officials of the State Department of Pesticide Regulation appeared before a state senate committee to explain the agricultural use of the chemical methyl iodide.
The pesticide would replace methyl bromide, which is suspected of harming the ozone layer. But critics say methyl iodide will harm farm workers and those who live near the strawberry fields where it would be used.
Thursday, the Senate Food and Agriculture Committee examined a scientific report on the public health threat posed by methyl iodide. Committee chairman, Senator Dean Florez says the Department of Pesticide Regulation is rushing to approve the chemical and the findings are being overlooked.
The chemical has been used in the laboratory to generate cancer cells and causes both neurological and fetal damage. Methyl iodide is expected to be allowed for use in California once a public comment period ends on June 29.
