Drought causing concern for Central Valley growers, higher prices for consumers Price inflations will likely be on the rise. Kern County is still in "Exceptional Drought" status according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. But with the county being one of the top vegetable-producing regions in the nation the drought is causing concern for local growers. By: Brianna Willis, 23ABC , Anthony Wright, 23ABC Posted at 8:43 PM, Jul 18, 2021 and last updated 2021-07-18 23:43:36-04 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) â Looking at the latest drought map, much of the state is bright red, which means extreme drought. If you take a look at Kern County, the area is almost entirely dark red. That color represents an exceptional drought which covers roughly 84 percent of the county. There is a small section of Eastern Kern that remains in the extreme drought.