Farmers seek rebound after floods, virus hit lettuce crop
“Most are remaining optimistic because we now have water instead of drought, so the future outlook is improved for several years.” Nonetheless, lettuce growers in the county have endured multiple years of hardships, with impatiens necrotic spot virus, or INSV, causing an estimated $100 million in crop losses in 2020 and even greater losses in 2022. “It’s always about expecting the un- expected,” said Mark Mason, manager of Nature’s Reward, which farms 9,000
acres stretching from the Spreckels area of Salinas south to Soledad, with about 60% planted as various lettuces. In the face of crop challenges, Mason said Nature’s Reward has stepped up plantings in recent years and increased acreage. “This year is up there be- cause we were hit in so many ways,” he said. “It’s not just one problem; it’s multiple problems.” After a winter of accelerated weed
By Caitlin Fillmore Things were challenging enough for lettuce growers in Monterey County’s Salinas Valley before Mother Nature dealt a one-two punch in this year’s storms. Farmers in 2022 had suffered an es- timated $150 million in crop losses as impatiens necrotic spot virus—a destructive plant disease spread by thrips—moved from field to field. Then this year, vast flooding from at- mospheric storms damaged multiple crops, with lettuce growers suffering an additional $54.4 million in losses, accord- ing to figures released by the Monterey County agricultural commissioner. The flooding is seriously testing let- tuce farmers growing the signature crop in the Salinas Valley, renowned as “the Salad Bowl of the World.” “We’re pretty dejected,” said Ryan Kelly, vice president and general man- ager of Boutonnet Farms. “Just getting your butt kicked all the time.” Early this month, Boutonnet Farms was still replenishing topsoil washed away by a deep channel that ripped through farmland between Chualar and Castroville. “We have a channel flowing through two of our ranches,” said Kelly, who oversees 4,600 specialty crop acres, of which 2,200 is iceberg, romaine and mixed lettuce greens. “Any ground that was flooded, it’s going to be a struggle to get a lettuce crop off of it. It’s go- ing to take a pretty significant amount of time.” For lettuce growers, flood impacts can last months, as food safety regula- tions for leafy greens require farmers to destroy crops exposed to floodwa- ters and then test the soil for pathogens before replanting the fields a month or two later. All told, flooding in January and March caused $600 million in agricul- tural damage in Monterey County, with 15,507 acres of farm fields flooded in January and 8,736 in March. “This has proven to be one of the most difficult winters many of our growers and communities have expe- rienced in our area,” Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo said in a statement as he re- leased the latest damage accounting this month. Norm Groot, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, said the county toll could hit $1 billion because the current figures “don’t include every damaged farm” because data submis- sion was voluntary. “There will be more expenses to reme- diate flooded fields, repair equipment and fix levees,” Groot said. But Groot is quick to point out that the vast majority of lettuce acreage in Monterey County, which normally
accounts for $1.2 billion in annual pro- duction, was spared from flooding. He also noted that growers this year will have an ample water supply for the planting and growing season. “Many of our growers have fields that were not impacted by flooding and are currently in production,” Groot said.
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May 24, 2023 Ag Alert 3
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