South Valley Ag suffers millions of dollars in damages after recent floods

Friday, April 14, 2023
TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Tulare and Kings counties are each estimating that ag losses will total more than $100 million after recent storms.

Both counties are known for being agricultural communities that feed the world.

Many of the farmers and growers in the area are now dealing with significant damage caused by flooding.

"Oats, Olives, pistachios, pomegranate, sunflower, tomato...wheat. The collection of this will be ongoing," said Jimmy Hook, the Kings County Ag Commissioner.

Officials say it will take years to recover from the widespread devastation.

"Right now, we are looking at approximately 60,000 acres that went under and we project it will get to 115,000 acres. The estimated damage we are projecting is roughly under $120 million," Hook explained.

Those numbers are very similar to the loss farmers in Tulare County are facing.

"You know, we are upwards of over 100 million dollars right now and these are losses they have already incurred or likely to," said Tom Tucker, the Tulare County Ag Commissioner.

Tucker is hopeful disaster funding will help those impacted get back on their feet.

He also says reinforcing levees and preparing for the coming months is the current priority.

"We are not out of the woods because we still have warm weather and more snow will melt. We are doing what we can to work on that," said Tucker.

Tucker says a lot of support is available for anyone impacted by the flood water.

For news updates, follow Elisa Navarro on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Copyright © 2024 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.