Sutter County Farmer Takes Precautions Following Oroville Dam Emergency

Fruit and nut growers in California are watching the weather, their trees and the volume of standing water in their orchards this week.

Richard Taylor owns Taylor Brothers Farms in south Yuba City. He says too much water at the wrong time can be disastrous to a crop.

"Almonds are blooming. Some of the early prune varieties are starting to bloom," says Taylor. "You get phytophthora. You get root rot. Basically, trees can't breathe if there's too much saturation of the water. Peach trees are very susceptible, young walnut trees are susceptible."

Taylor says seepage and boils from the Feather River forced him to move about a million dollars worth of farm equipment to higher ground. He also moved 1,200 tons of prunes to a processing facility in Tehama County.

A section of the river adjacent to some of his trees has been receiving non-stop deliveries of rock at its base for several days.

Crews are also pouring a new slurry wall down the middle of the levee to prevent seepage, boils and other erosion.