LONOKE, Ark. — Rex Barnhill knows the fields he's standing in well as he's been farming for nearly four decades.
"I'm not a long range forecaster but I do keep my eye on it, and eventually it's going to clear off and we'll have a decent summer," Barnhill, co-owner of Barnhill Orchards in Lonoke, said. "You make your plan and you work your plan, and you adjust your plan as you go."
Recent challenges already have him adjusting those plans more than normal though.
"Seems like it rains every third day round here and the ground's cold," Barnhill said.
He's right on both of those points.
The THV11 Meteorology Team said the portion of central Arkansas that Barnhill is referencing is a couple inches above normal rainfall totals.
And while the rain is a big issued, it's not the only one he's dealing with though.
Barnhill is also dealing with worldwide issues, along with many other farmers in Arkansas.
"The biggest issue right now, everybody's looking at, is the conflict in Ukraine," Mark Lambert, Director of Commodity Activities at the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said.
Lambert tracks these issues and how they impact farmers' bottom dollar here in Arkansas. He said the conflict, coupled with the rainy weather, is having a major impact on them.
"There's 40, almost 44,000 farmers in Arkansas. It doesn't take long to get to the million dollar range there," he said.
It'll result in millions in economic impact, and it's something that Barnhill is seeing first hand-- common items needed for the farm are more expensive and sometimes they're even triple the price.
"I mean a bag is, it's even more than doubled," Barnhill said. "Eight dollars, and now it's 25."
They're difficult challenges but Barnhill said they're used to it. He's not going to let rain or rising prices stop him – he said they'll adjust as they need to.
"I've been in it so long, you don't let these things bother you. You keep rolling," Barnhill said.