Heavy rains exposed how vulnerable these flat, watershed‑fed fields had become after decades of conventional grain farming. Transitioning to organic row crops revealed how little organic matter remained to absorb extreme weather.

Most folks may recall that in September 2024, the southeastern U.S. was hit by Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend area with 140-mph winds. It crossed Florida and came up through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, causing numerous fatalities and billions of dollars in damage. We are still hearing about the recovery efforts across much of the region, particularly areas of North Carolina devastated by flooding.

The days hadn’t yet warmed up enough to encourage the white crystals to transform into a liquid state and speed down the mountains to refresh the valley below.

When Hurricane Helene struck on Sept. 27, 2024, Biltmore Farms faced one of its toughest challenges yet after the storm brought relentless rains, howling winds and rising floodwaters that devastated the dairy farm and surrounding areas. Dairy manager Mike Corn recounts the chaos and hardships that unfolded over eight days without power and limited resources.

Dr. Lisa McCrea, dairy veterinarian and partner at AgWest Veterinary Group, spoke at the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar (WCDS) in March and reflected upon the flooding that occurred in British Columbia because of an atmospheric river in November 2021 and how it affected the dairy industry there.

The list of notable weather events in 2023 is long and varied — from drought conditions in parts of the Midwest, to extreme flooding in portions of New England, to smoky skies from Canadian wildfires.

Over the course of the past month, and likely for the next several years, California dairy farmers are having to make drastic adjustments to their operations.