Severe storms have devastating impact on Central California crops
California’s Central Valley produces a quarter of the nation’s food, but a parade of atmospheric rivers this winter caused severe storms that destroyed thousands of acres of crops. The storms, which have been linked to climate change, swamped 150,000 acres in the region, according to numbers from Kings County officials. About 99% of the nation’s pistachio supply is grown in Central California, per data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Pistachio farmer Nader Malakan estimates that about 1,200 acres of pistachio crops were destroyed, to the tune of $15 million.
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