LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The recent rain has been a gift for farmers in Central Arkansas, especially given last year's drought.
Too much rain, though, can cause problems, and it's something Danny Carpenter with Carpenter's Produce knows firsthand.
"Farming is not an easy job," Carpenter said. "It's hard work. You work from sun up to sun down every day."
Carpenter has been growing and selling produce for 50 years, meeting many customers. The weather has been Carpenter's most unpredictable client in his five decades of farming.
He said the weather has been frustrating to work with recently, making things difficult.
"We did have some damage with the tornado [in March]," Carpenter said. "It blew down a lot of plants and all kinds of different stuff."
However, there is a silver lining with the most recent storms.
Little Rock has witnessed 40 inches of rain from January to June 2023, 15 more inches than the same period in 2022.
"When we do get rain, it's a blessing. When you don't get rain, god blessed you with the irrigation system," Carpenter said. "You just have to sweat it out and keep moving."
Of course, it isn't just Carpenter keeping an eye on the sky.
"Weather is a key factor in any kind of production," said Tyler Oxner, director for Commodity Activities and Economics at the Arkansas Farm Bureau.
Weather, both good and bad, is a crucial ingredient for farmers like Carpenter.
"With the hail damage and things like that, it hurts the watermelon crops," Oxner said. "The tomato crops that are just gonna get beat to death out there."
While crops need rain, there can be too much of a good thing.
"If that seven-day forecast continues to show two or three inches of rain across the state when we get into harvest time," Oxner said. "That's when you might be facing some adversity there."
Carpenter, like many farmers, knows the risks. Without that knowledge, he wouldn't have been able to make it 50 years in the industry.
"If you've ever been in farming, you never gamble, but you gamble every day," Carpenter said. "You take chances in farming and pray that everything goes well."