Central Coast strawberry production started later than usual because of the storm aftermath 

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV)- The aftermath of the storms on the Central Coast impacted strawberry production for some farmers.

Ana Maria Castro has been working in the fields for 14 years. Her strawberries at Alba Farms in Salinas were damaged because of the flooding, and that has affected her.

"It's affecting me economically because I'm not seeing money flowing in, and with the storms that we had, it damaged all of my fruit," said Castro. "So, when that happens, I need to spend more money to harvest it again, and I have to get loans."

Castro said that last year she would start selling her strawberries at supermarkets by March -- this year, it's a month later.

Meagan Haynes is a soil scientist, and she said that when there is repeated rain, it's hard to harvest.

"With repeated storm, we are saturating our soils, over and over again," said Haynes. "The soils don't get enough time to dry out in between storm events, which means the soils are going to be too wet to get any sort of equipment in for land prep and for planting."

Farmers in Salinas and Watsonville have already begun strawberry production.

The California Strawberry Commission said that strawberry production did get delayed by a couple of weeks, but they are planning a promising season.

"By the time we get to Mother's Day, which is the peak season for California's strawberries, over 95% of the crop will be coming from California," said Jeff Cardinale, Director of Communications for the California Strawberry Commission.

The Strawberry Commission wants every farmer to know that if their farms were impacted by the rain, to apply for a low-interest loan.

They are also working with local, state, and federal leaders to have more resources for farmers. 
Other spring fruits like cherries also got delayed in production.