As noted by Twoflower above, only if your name is Milo Minderbinder.
Oh, my God! Maybe it’s just because of what I see on the news, but I have the impression that, as far as water is concerned in California, it’s either feast or famine. It’s either water shortages and wild fires, or torrential rain, flooding, and mud slides.
Cotton might be the largest crop in the area but the next largest are things like grapes, corn, alfalfa, almonds, and pistachios.
Although more might be planted in cotton if these floods leave farmlands with contamination. You can grow cotton on land you wouldn’t want to grow food on. Also, it’s a lot cheaper/easier/faster to replant with cotton, corn, and alfalfa than crops that require multi-year investments before harvest, like grapes and nuts.
Flooding is a disaster for those who are inundated, although everyone should be aware of their risks. But we really need events like this. It recharges the ground water, reduces soil salt levels, and prevents ground subsistence and sink holes.
It’s not only California. Quite a lot of places in the world have been seeing alternating floods and droughts.
Yes, you are unfortunately right, and it appears to be a very disturbing trend.
I grew up in a farming community near the Minnesota River. The local lore was that the farmers next to the river came out even - tremendously productive land that flooded out every so often, making it equivalent to land a bit higher up.
Yes you’re right. Lately, California just can’t win. I’ve lived here since 1979 and it does seem to be feast or famine with most years being famine.
Owens Lake with water! Wow that would be something if it came back and wasn’t drained by LA DWP. I used to go to Bishop a lot. In the winter if 80 and 50 were snowed in, and the northern passes closed, I’d sometimes have to go down and over Tehachapi. Owens Lake with water would be something to see!
Ii was thinking about the salt (and other nasty things) reduction “silver lining”. OTOH some of that will end up in places it doesn’t belong.
Long term gentle increase in rainfall does help the last two, but sudden bursts like this actually makes things worse.
Curious, Why? Bishop is nothing but a gas stop (and speed-trap) for me.
Well, it’s has the headquarters for Inyo National Forest, and people really like Schat’s Bakkery (not a misspelling); beyond that, it’s mostly a way stop to Mammoth or Tahoe.
Stranger
You may be right. With the soil salinity being fairly bad in much of California, flooding may be more stirring things up than rinsing out.
No, the speed trap is Independence. Bishop has a decent selection of restaurants. Well worthy stopping at on the way the Mammoth, where traffic can be slow and restaurants crowded.
Well, yes. But this didn’t flood the entire Central Valley, not even close. And I will point out that the Almond industry is one of the causes for water shortages in CA- and they export most of their product. That area grows a lot of cotton and alfalfa also, and those are hardly food crops.
Yep.
And if the Lake stays, it would be great for the Environment. Not to mention replenishing the aquifer, which has been badly drained by poor crop choices due to really cheap water.
I can see what you are saying here, and you make an interesting point.
Almonds, cotton and Alfalfa mostly.
When I was working for the Feds Bishop was considered the punishment POD.
An Alternate Spelling is “Overrated” 
I’m on a hill above that river now, and it’s flood time. Pretty high, but not the worst I’ve seen.
Each state deals with farms on flood plains differently. An acquaintance in Illinois had to give up half his acreage for a pittance from the state to let it go back to pre-farming times, but the result is less fertilizer runoff into the river and a healthier ecosystem. It sucks for the farmers but it’s better husbandry of the land and wildlife. We are learning.
Bishop’s top-rated restaurant on Trip Advisor is the Back Alley Bowl and Grill, which as you’d expect is in a bowling alley.
That brings back memories of the early '80s food desert that was Vermillion, South Dakota. The best restaurant was in a bowling alley. Meals were…edible.
Back in the 80’s, my brother insisted that the best sushi he’d ever had was at a restaurant attached to a gas station somewhere in South Carolina.
I never stopped there, personally, but every time I mention I’m passing through somebody wants me to get them some Sheepherder Bread or some special roll. I make sure I’m always passing through late at night so I have an excuse. Whiskey Creek is okay, I guess. I wasn’t impressed with either the Texas BBQ or pizza joint that people raved about. Mostly I go through Bishop to get to Lake Sabrina or John Muir, and then hit the trail at first light.
Stranger
Here’s a new video by Joe Scott on this subject. I’m starting it at 11 min when he starts talking about a roughly 200 year cycle for mass flooding in California. The last time was 1862.
https://youtu.be/bM4EGwzjzNE?t=660