FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Although storms this winter have brought much-needed rain and snow, farmers are saying the never-ending conga line of wet weather has interrupted production for multiple crops.

Farmers are now saying too much rain has paused the planting of tomatoes and the pollination of almonds in the valley. Tomato farmer Daniel Hartwig is one of many farmers waiting for a break in the rain.

He says what seems like never-ending rainfall has made the ground too wet to plant, “It’s a multi-month process just kinda getting things ready so we have to start making sure 60 days before they actually go in the ground, but if folks can’t get into the fields then obviously there’s still going to be a shortage again,” said Hartwig.

Tomatoes are typically planted from March 1 to May 1 and are harvested from July to October, but this year the wet weather has pushed back the planting which can mean more problems for farmers at harvest and also cause another tomato shortage.

“Now you are susceptible to rains in the fall especially if the season extends out to mid to late October or mid-November now you’re worried about rains on the back end because now you have to worry about mold and other things like that,” said Hartwig

The continued rain has also stopped bees from pollinating almond trees.

“We have seen so many days that have been taken away it’s either too cold there’s rain, there’s wind, the number of days of pollination was on the lower side,” said Ryan Jacobsen Ceo of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.

With possibly more wet weather on the way, Jacobsen says the one thing the valley doesn’t need is more hail, which can cause major damage to crops.

“Hail can absolutely wipe a field out depending on which cloud you’re under, for a lot of farmers, there have been some impacts already but we expect more impacts as these storms come in over the next couple of weeks,” said Jacobsen.

Farmers say for now they will take advantage of every break in the rain to get as much done as possible.