Hay bales that were covered before the storm remain in good condition. However, those left exposed to the rain were soaked, raising concerns about mold and feed quality.
"We'll watch them over the next week and a half," said Fresno State Farm Manager Rob Willmott. "If they don't dry out, then we'll peel those layers off."
Willmott demonstrated how deep the rain penetrated into the bales, which is about three inches, and explained how mold detection is often done by smell.
"You can usually smell mold in a bale. I can. Right now I don't smell it," he said.
Moldy hay poses a risk to livestock, which will refuse to eat feed that smells off.
"That's what they eat every day, so they can definitely smell it if it's on there," Willmott added.
Any wheat hay that begins to spoil will be moved to a compost pile.
The storm also impacted Fresno State's winegrape harvest. Crews managed to pick the best of the zinfandel and petite syrah varieties for the campus winery, but about half of the crop was lost due to water damage.
"Unfortunately, the grapes behind me most likely will go by the wayside," Willmott said, pointing to bunches showing signs of rot and mildew. "At first, you don't think it's a problem, but then it heats up like this. That's going to accelerate the rot and the mildew."
Before the rain arrived, crews rushed to harvest wine grapes and table grapes, and to collect almonds and raisins.
"We scurried over there, had to get those raisins up and under cover as well," Willmott said.
The raisins will be put back out to finish drying once conditions improve.
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