California growers say new rodent infestation is plaguing Central Valley

CBS News

2 days ago

A rodent problem for San Joaquin County agriculture. The farm bureau says ground squirrels are causing thousands, if not millions, of dollars in damage to crops and farms across California.
Rows and rows of walnut orchards in Vernalis are almost ready for harvest.
"I'm hearing more and more from growers, kind of in the southern portion of San Joaquin County, that they're having rodent damage or rodent issues," said Andrew Genasci, the executive director of the San Joaquin County Farm Bureau.
Genasci keeps tabs on all of the issues surrounding growers and ranchers and says this rodent infestation plaguing the Central Valley is new.
"Honestly, over the last couple years, it's slowly been picking up more and more and more," Genasci said.
Genasci says the drought in 2022 shook the county and the state, forcing farmers to uproot the crops they'd usually grow.
"They can't afford to keep operating. So whether it was cherries, grapevines, almonds, walnuts, there's a lot of operators who don't have the money to keep operating," Genasci said. "They'll fallow their ground for a year or two."
The wet weather in 2023 created the perfect breeding ground for rodents.
"In our area, it's been a lot of ground squirrel issues. They're eating the sprinkler line, they're destroying infrastructure and getting into equipment. Then, you have them getting up into the trees," Genasci said.
Farmers are trying everything they can to protect their crop and their walnuts from this infestation. However, Genasci says it's becoming increasingly more difficult because they have to use fewer rodenticides.
"Rodenticides have been really in the crosshairs. They've removed a number of items we use to kill rodents, or restricted their use," Genasci said. "If it's not one thing, it's another, it seems like."
He's hoping that soon, farmers and growers can catch a break.
"Drought, you don't get a crop. Too much rain, you don't get a crop. If it's too cold or too hot, you don't get a crop. You get a mild year like this, and you get rodents out there eating it. It's very frustrating."
Genasci says there is an informal meeting with California's Department of Pesticide Regulation next month. There, he hopes the concerns of growers are heard, and they can take a step towards fixing this infestation.