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January 2, 2015 CapitalPress.com 7 S. Idaho snowpack Rain sets Calif. strawberries behind 2013 pace above average By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press Capital Press BOISE, Idaho — Idaho’s reservoir storage carryover is strong enough that just 70 per- cent of average stream-flow lev- els should be sufficient to sup- port 2015 irrigation demand for the Upper Snake River system, according to a recent USDA re- port. In the absence of additional spring moisture to supplement snow melt, a mountain snow- pack of roughly 90 percent of average would still yield the necessary stream flow volumes, explained Ron Abramovich, a Natural Resources Conservation Service water supply specialist. Last winter, for example, Upper Snake snowpack was 142 percent of median on April 1, but stream-flow levels lagged at 121 percent of median due to a dry spring. The Southern and Central Idaho snowpack is off to a good start this winter. Through Dec. 24, Upper Snake snowpack was 133 percent of average. Else- where in the state, snowpack was also strong in the Boise River Basin at 124 percent of average, the Bear River Basin at 120 percent of average, the Henry’s Fork at 109 percent of average, the Owhyee Basin at 127 percent of average, the Big Wood Basin at 125 percent of average, the Big Lost Basin at 112 percent of average and the Salmon River Basin at 117 per- cent of average. The state’s lowest snowpack totals are in the northern pan- handle, at 60 percent of average, and 92 percent of average in the Clearwater Basin near Lewis- ton. Abramovich said the lowest snowpacks in the West early in the winter are in the Cascade Range of Oregon and Washing- ton, ranging from 10 to 50 per- cent of normal. The weather pat- tern that has brought rain rather than snow to the Cascades has also affected Northern Idaho, Abramovich said. In Oregon’s Mount Hood area snowpack is just 10 percent of average. Abramovich said remnants John O’Connell/Capital Press Snow-capped mountains poke above the far bank of American Falls Reservoir in southeast Idaho. of a warm spot in the Pacific Ocean and an El Nino pattern have diverted the jet stream around much of the Pacific Northwest, but storms have hit Southern Idaho. “Right now, the best snow in the West is from Owyhee Basin to Green River, Wyo., and all across Southern Idaho,” Abramovich said. Even on the Oregon side, the Owyhee Basin’s snowpack is well above average. Last season, the basin’s irrigators were with- in a swath extending into the Big Wood and Big Lost basins that was missed by storms. They ran out of water on July 18, and their runoff was only 14 percent of normal, Abramovich said. The moisture outlook for Southern and Central Idaho could have been even rosier, had temperatures been a few degrees colder when storms passed through on Dec. 20-21. Those storms dumped 3 feet of snow at some high-elevation survey sites in Central Idaho, but moisture fell as rain at lower elevations. Abramovich said a large storm system was predicted for after Christmas. “There are some indica- tors that January is going to be colder,” Abramovich said. “We need the moisture that does fall as snow rather than rain to let snowpack gradually melt in the spring to fill reservoirs to use (water) next summer.” WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Rain in the last few weeks has dampened strawberry yields along California’s Cen- tral Coast, making it appear likely that growers would just miss another record produc- tion year. But farmers aren’t com- plaining, California Strawber- ry Commission spokeswoman Carolyn O’Donnell said. “Quite frankly, farmers are happy to have the rain,” O’Donnell said. “They see the benefit from the rain offsetting any short-term loss in terms of berries lost to the rain.” As of mid-December, the Golden State’s strawberry growers had turned out more than 190.9 million flats, down significantly from the 193.6 million trays produced in the same period last year but up slightly from the 190 million flats picked by mid-Decem- ber of 2012, according to the commission. Through much of this year, growers were on a pace to enjoy their eighth re- cord-setting year in the last nine seasons. Production re- mained brisk despite fewer acres planted in 2014, as a lack of torrential storms last winter helped yields. California growers fin- ished 2013 having produced nearly 194.8 million flats on 40,816 acres. This year, an estimated 38,073 acres were in production, as strawberry plantings naturally fluctuate, according to the commission. The last time production fell short of a record was in 2011, when a cool, wet spring pushed the peak sum- mer strawberry season back a month. Even stands in the northern Sacramento Valley remained open for business well into August that year. Warm storms such as Photos by Tim Hearden/Capital Press Organic strawberries from Santa Maria, Calif., are displayed at a farmers’ market in Davis, Calif. Strawberry production in California appeared likely to fall just short of another record in 2014. Doug Kauffman, a marketer for Rancho La Familia in Santa Maria, Calif., sells strawberries at a farmers’ market in Davis, Calif. Strawberry production in California appeared likely to fall just short of another record in 2014. the ones that have paraded through California in Decem- ber can complicate strawberry harvest, as the rain can cause ripe berries to become moldy and waterlogged. “Last year we had a lack of rain, which definitely makes for greater volume and less damage,” O’Donnell said. “I think the rain tells the story more than anything else.” The rain has actually helped yields at Rancho La Familia in Santa Maria, Calif., said Doug Kauffman, who was working a booth for the farm at a farm- ers’ market in Davis, Calif., on Dec. 20. “I’d say it was scarcer be- fore because of the water stor- age,” Kauffman said of berry production. “Now with the water from the rains, we’re do- ing fine.” Strawberries are a year- round fruit in California as harvests essentially follow the sun, wintering in Southern California and moving north as the year progresses. 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