Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office Releases March 2023 Storm Agriculture Damage Survey Results

 

The County of Monterey Agricultural Commissioner’s Office has completed a survey of flood

and storm damage impacting Monterey County Agriculture in March 2023.

This is the 2nd survey done by the Commissioner’s Office. The 1st survey captured storm

impacts from January 2023 which totaled $336M.

The results of the second survey show damages, current loss estimates and projected future

losses totaling $264M. Approximately 8,736 acres of crops were destroyed or unable to be

planted due to the flooding; half of these acres were newly impacted and not previously reported

in the January storm survey results.

Strawberries were significantly affected due to flooding in the Pajaro Valley. An estimated 1,919

acres were damaged totaling $160M in losses.

Other key commodities in our region significantly impacted include:

• Lettuces: $54.4M

• Vegetable crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.): $24.2M

• Caneberries (raspberries and blackberries): $11.4M

• Wine grapes: $1.35M

The January and March storm events this winter cumulatively impacted a total of 20,073 acres

and created $600M of damage to our agricultural industry.

“This has proven to be one of the most difficult winters many of our growers and communities

have experienced in our area,” said Juan Hidalgo, County of Monterey Agricultural

Commissioner. “I am hopeful that having a full picture of the extent of this winter’s damage will

open new recovery opportunities and assistance to our impacted growers.”

Monterey County has 1,104 farms, according to the most recent U.S. Farm Census, and 366,709

total crop acres. The 2021 Monterey County Crop and Livestock Report values agriculture

production at $4.1B.