Farmers want more rain & snow

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- When it comes to heavy rain valley farmers said the good far out-weighed the bad at this time of year.

March has always been critical in padding the snow pack and adding to the underground water supply. The wet weather was welcome on David Sarabian's Fresno county farm.

The flooding in his fields was so deep in some parts an egret settled in to forage for food. Sarabian joked, "They're looking for fish."

Sarabian was concerned over his onion crop though. "The farther along it is the greater the risk of damage."

But he was confident the standing water would quickly soak into the ground. Many wells on local farms have gone dry because growers have pumped so much irrigation water these past four years. Sarabian said, "It looks like a good month. We're hoping that we get, the more rainwater we get the less we have to turn our pumps on which in the long run will build up our aquifer and give us more water through the summer."

Sarabian didn't mind the occasional flooding in his fields as long as they got a chance to dry out. Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen was happy to see the wet systems pass through.

He said, "This is absolutely critical. This is kind of the make it or break it month because February was very dry. If we could get a few more storms like what just saw this weekend and today it will definitely put a big dent in things."

Despite the wet January and wet start to March we still had a below average snow pack.