<p>California saw some much needed precipitation last weekend. The rains were very welcomed by California residents, who are experiencing extreme drought conditions. So far this has been the driest winter on record.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">However, the rain has caused a hiccup in California's strawberry production. The southern California strawberry harvest has been temporarily interrupted, due to wet conditions from recent rain.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Rising water filled irrigation canals and made fields difficult to walk through. Harvest workers would do more harm than good if they tried to get the fruit, according to KEYT Fox Central Coast News. And although the rain may damage some of the fruit, it will help the plants by flushing agricultural salts from the root zone.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">One California grower told AndNowUKnow that the 5 inches of rain did interrupt harvest activities temporarily. However, only a single round of harvesting would be affected. Starting Monday through about Wednesday, workers will need to go in and strip out the rain-damaged fruit. This means workers will be back to harvesting undamaged strawberries beginning the end of this week.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The market price is not expected to be affected by these delays, mostly because berries are also coming from Florida and Mexico right now.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">One grower commented that the respite from California will actually be beneficial for the market, and will provide a better balance of the supply and demand equation.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
