SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Years of severe drought quelled for just a moment when Northern California experienced record-breaking rainfall last weekend, a great day for some farmers and other agriculture workers.
But for the farm owners running pumpkin patches and other attractions in the fall, those heavy showers spelled trouble.
Joe Cates owns Fog Willow Farms in Wilton. While he recognizes the positive impact of rain for Northern California farmers, the amount we got also meant a lot of mud — and the possibility of losing pumpkins to the extreme weather conditions.
"I would sacrifice a good day of business for a good day of rain," Cates said. "It can benefit everyone."
At Crazy Raven Pumpkin Patch in Galt, owner Gordon Johnston said he lost close to one-quarter of his expected fall-season earnings over the rain. Johnston found himself dealing with a nearly-flooded farm filled with animals and pumpkins.
"The rain almost had them floating away," Johnston said, referring to the pumpkins. "It was a doozy."
Unfortunately, the storm's immediate aftermath led him to close Oct. 24 through Oct. 26 — the entire weekend before Halloween.
While pumpkin patch owners in Northern California saw at least some damage from the weekend rain, Manteca-based pumpkin wholesaler Art Perry said his clients will weather the storm.
"I'm not going to say (the rain) wasn't bad, but I'm positive they'll be able to recoup their loses over the Halloween weekend," Perry said. "We have to look at the positive outlook and keep moving, everyone's going to want a pumpkin through the season."
By Oct. 27, pumpkin patches around the county had reopened, though some with limited attractions because of rain damage.
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Record rainfall in Northern California leads to heavy flooding across the region