San Diego County farms lose an estimated $1.7 million each year to weather-related natural hazards, according to a Trace One analysis reported by East County Magazine.

The report used Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture data to estimate how disasters affect agricultural production. Nationally, Trace One estimated natural hazards cause about $5.1 billion in annual agricultural losses, or roughly $2,717 per farm.

In San Diego County, researchers identified inland flooding as the most damaging hazard for local agriculture. East County Magazine reported the county has 4,031 farms and more than $1.1 billion in total agricultural value.

The local loss rate is relatively small compared with California’s major farming counties, but the pressure still matters for growers already dealing with labor, equipment and operating costs. Trace One’s statewide estimate put California’s annual agricultural losses from natural hazards at about $1.2 billion.

For Santee residents, the story is less about a single storm and more about the grocery-store chain reaction. When floods, droughts or freezes cut into crops, those costs can move from farms to retailers and eventually to shoppers.

Source: East County Magazine — https://eastcountymagazine.org/san-diego-county-farms-lose-1-7m-annually-to-natural-hazards/