Farmers Hopeful Unusual June Rain Won't Interfere With Harvests

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — An unusual June storm is rolling into Northern California, but farmers are hopeful it won't interfere with their harvests.

The current forecast has the rain rolling through on Thursday, but farmers are concerned if it sticks around any longer, their crops could be in jeopardy.

At the farmers market at Cesar Chavez Park on Wednesday, Alfonso Pizano was busy at the Lagorio Farms stand, a popular place for customers buying cherries. He says he's concerned for his cherries that haven't come to market."It's the last week of the cherries to pick them so usually, we're more worried about rain splitting the cherries.

"It's the last week of the cherries to pick them so usually, we're more worried about rain splitting the cherries," he said.

When the rain splits the cherries they often become a loss, as customers want them round without the split. It's not just his farmers market customers who don't want split fruit. Lagorio Farms ships to places like Australia and Japan where he says buyers are even pickier and where a split can cause the fruit to go bad more quickly.

Over at Twin Peaks fruit stand Magda Morgan has another worry—rot. She says if there's any hail from potential thunderstorms, her the stone fruit will get pockmarks.

Farm advisers from the UC Cooperative Extension tell CBS13 it's the end of cherries and still early for peaches, so a short-term rain may not be too harmful for most growers. But if it's too strong or goes on for more than a few days they say, the chance for crop diseases will increase.

For now, they can only wait on mother nature.