Rain impacts and benefits on Tulare County citrus farms

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Crops across Tulare County are reaping the benefits of the recent rainfall.

"Very beneficial, very beneficial, it saves irrigation here. We got an inch and 75-hundredths," says Dan Certini, a local Citrus farmer.

Linda Gaile Certini and Dan Certini have been farming citrus in Visalia for decades.

They say the rain has brought much-needed relief.

Dan explains, "Here, we don't get any rainwater during the summer, so we have to pump from the underground. There is no surface water, like ditch water or canal water. So we have to pump from the underground aquifer, but we welcome a good rain like that because it saves the aquifer down below."

"Trees take it all in and the fruit grows, so it's always a blessing for rain," continues Linda.

While the rain is mostly a good thing, it can cause a small setback in getting the crops off the trees.

"I know there's been some mellow golds, grapefruit and other specialty citrus that get harvested this time of year, that might have either delayed entry into the orchards or caused some muddy conditions, created some headaches around scheduling, picking crews," explains Tricia Stever Blattler with the Tulare County Farm Bureau.

The Tulare County Farm Bureau says muddy conditions can take a few days to dry out, so some citrus picking crews have likely faced disruptions.

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