Filling a Sandbag of Hope-

Merced Community Steps Up to Help Flooded Families

This photo provided by the County of Merced, shows how flood waters covered lower land near Ashby Road off California Highway 99. Photo: County of Merced Facebook page.

Merced Mayor Matthew Serrato had one hope as the New Year was about to begin.

His wish: “I just want to see work get done.”

If the recent storms that hit Merced and surrounding areas are any indication, it would appear the Mayor got his wish.

The community went through a lot as a result of the powerful rains and winds from early January.

The week of January 9 will stand out as a week when the brutality of the weather was overpowered only by the capacity of first responders and volunteers to step up to help their neighbors.

The waters of Bear Creek just barely below the bottom of the McKee road bridge in Merced. Photo: Nathan Quevedo.

On Monday January 9, residents near Bear Creek were evacuated to shelters set up at the Merced County Fairgrounds.

A day later, the entire community of Planada was evacuated.

From the very beginning, the community stepped in to help.

Volunteers staffed the Love INC portable shower ministry that was moved to the County Fairgrounds where a shelter for evacuated residents was set up. In Atwater, volunteers moved quickly to fill sandbags for residents needing them. Photo: Love INC and City of Atwater Facebook pages.

Love INC brought their portable shower ministry to the Fairgrounds. Ordinarily, the showers are offered at an area shelter. This time around, the showers were available to anyone, including the families that were evacuated.

In Atwater, the City’s Facebook page describes the outpouring of help from neighbors simply as “community helping one another”. The volunteers filled sand bags and helped out wherever they were needed.

Even students at Our Lady of Mercy School got into the spirit of helping. They helped fill sandbags for distribution to any homeowner needed them.

The County of Merced provided some of the amazing aerial photographs seen here. The County set up a special storm information link on the County website and asked residents to donate supplies to three flood shelters. Within days, the shelters were stocked. Photo: Merced County Facebook page.

The strongest show of support and assistance from the community of Merced was seen in Planada.

The entire city, some four-thousand residents, was evacuated as rain and wind devastated everything within the confines of city limits.

People from all over the Merced area came in once the first wave of danger had eased off.

The floors of the Planada Community Church were covered with rain water.

Sacred Heart Church in the city is collecting donations of blankets and other needed supplies, working in conjunction with Catholic Charities of Merced County.

The inside of the Planada Community Church when helpers arrived later in the week of January 9. Photo: Annette Macias.

Stores were damaged.

Homes are now mucked up with water and mud.

But the people came, rolled up their sleeves, and got down to work.

On Thursday, the evacuation order was lifted. The County thanked the community and reported that all shelters are fully stocked.

The County asked residents to consider monetary donations and to make these donations through the United Way of Merced.

It’s been a trying January for Merced County and much of the state of California.

The silver lining in these storm clouds has been the willingness of so many people to donate money, goods, and time.

Mayor Seratto got his wish for the New Year. Work is getting done.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced. 

The County of Merced has a website banner offering flood resources and information:  2023 Flood Resources and Information | Merced County, CA - Official Website (countyofmerced.com)

To donate to local flood relief:  United Way of Merced County (unitedwaymerced.org)

Steve’s book Can-Do Californians is available at the Merced Courthouse Museum Gift Shop or online at Lulu.com

Crop Values Up, Inflation Up

Values on the Rise in the County’s Ag Report

Merced County’s farm products were valued at $3.7 billion according to the 2021 Agriculture Commissioner’s Annual Report released at the end of 2022. Photo: Steve Newvine

This mural at the Merced County Fairgrounds reminds visitors how important local growers are to agriculture.

Farming continues to form the foundation of economic life in the community. The latest report from the County Ag Commissioner affirms that and offers a ray of hope for ag producers.

In late 2022, the County Board of Supervisors received the annual Agriculture Report from Agriculture Commissioner David A. Robinson.

The good news within the report comes on page four where the value of commodities is listed at $3,711,557,000.

That’s up from $3,401,610,000 in the 2020 report. The increase is approximately nine percent.

The annual inflation rate is seven-point-five percent. So while ag grew at a higher pace than inflation, many growers could live without the rising costs associated with farming.

For a column on the nut crop earlier this year, Merced County Farm Bureau President Joe Sansoni was not encouraged by the trend of rising costs for the things he and his members need to run a successful enterprise.

“For example, repair parts for equipment have doubled and in some cases tripled in cost, and often are back ordered or simply unavailable,” Joe said. “This goes for every single category including labor.”

Joe elaborated on the rising cost of fuel to run his farm equipment.

“A harvesting operation that had a $6,000/month fuel bill in 2020 would've had a $10-11,000/month bill during the 2022 season.”

Joe said situations like this will force some growers to take drastic steps.

“If costs don't begin to decrease along with much-needed increases in crop prices, many farmers will be forced out of business very soon.”

Pages from the 2021 Ag Report for Merced County. Photo montage: Steve Newvine

The report is done in compliance with the state Food and Ag Code. It summarizes the gross value of the County’s agricultural commodities, along with updates to the amount of acreage and production in the farming sector.

The numbers in the report represent only gross returns to the producer. It does not take into account the costs of production, marketing, or transportation.

MERCED COUNTY TOP FIVE COMMODITIES (2021 Ag Commissioner’s report released in late 2022)

• Milk $1,093,632,000 31.8%
• Almonds $485,858,000 14.1%
• Sweet Potatoes $317,789,000 9.2%
• Chickens $276,215,000 8%
• Cattle & Calves $278,246,000 7.5%

A breakdown of each category is available on the County website 906 (countyofmerced.com) . There are graphs and more detailed explanations included in the report.

The report also contains summaries on Agriculture Commission programs such as pest detection, weights and measures, and nursery inspection. In the report’s summary of all the countries that buy farm products from Merced County, there are twenty countries listed.

The top three importers are India, Spain, and Japan.

One thing for certain that will change when the next annual report comes out will be the name of the person running the department.

The County’s Agriculture Commissioner David A. Robinson retired at the end of 2022. In December, the Board of Supervisors named Sean S. Runyon as the new Commissioner

The previous year’s report had the shadow of COVID as farmers dealt with all the many issues the pandemic brought about.

The new report has the shadow of inflation. Rising costs continue to worry growers and their strategic partners.

The mural at the fairgrounds depicts a proud lifestyle in farming. While that may never go away, it continues to face challenges in 2023 for growers.

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Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

Two of his books, California Back Roads and Can Do Californians are available for purchase at the Merced Courthouse Museum Gift Shop.

His other titles are available at Lulu.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.com