“Too damn hot.” Farmers look for irrigation sweet spot to cool crops but there’s no beating this heat
If the heat is sapping your will to live, most San Joaquin Valley crops are right there with you. The blast furnace weather has farmers irrigating in cycles, using more frequent bursts, taking advantage of the coolest part of the day; anything to get crops through to harvest But “it’s just too damn hot,” said Kern County grower and farm manager Keith Gardiner. “We’re trying to keep up but we can’t increase the number of cycles. There’s only so much water we have access to. We’re pretty much maxed out.” Gardiner grows his own almonds and row crops, while his company, Pacific Ag Management manages acreage for other farmers as well. Hot weather is nothing new in the valley. But extreme heat for this long – especially the high overnight temperatures – is putting crops through significant stress, Gardiner said.
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