A SPECIAL REPORT: AGRICULTURE

SUFFERIN’ SUCCOTASH: The lima bean harvest begins this week, three weeks behind schedule. There hasn’t been enough sun to dry the beans, says Ted Segerstrom, one of the county’s last lima bean growers. . . . Normally, they are cut and left on the ground for several days to dry before the harvest. “One grower in Santa Maria had to plow under 600 acres” so he could plant other vegetables, Segerstrom says.