From rice to cotton to soybeans Arkansas produces a multitude of crops each year. But this year the rain is putting those crops in jeopardy.
Kevin Stecks hasn't seen his soybean crops this damaged in 15 years of farming. "I'm grateful for the rain but it's a double-edged sword. Where it helps you on one end when you have an increase in yields you have other problems," he said.
They're problems that lead to worthless soybeans, like mold. It's just about time to harvest. But since you can't tell how bad the mold is from the outside of the soybean pod Stecks won't know how much of a financial hit he'll take until he sells it off to a processor. He said, "you harvest it all and let the dryer decide how much they can handle, how much they're going to dock you for it."
Pumpkins are taking a hit too. Glynn Reynolds of Mary's Place in Bryant says pumpkins and gourds cost a little bit more this year because pumpkin yields are down by about 15 percent. "The moisture will harm anything if it hangs around long enough," Reynolds said.
The problem with all the rain this year is it's creating a soggy mess in pumpkin patches, opening up pumpkins and gourds to diseases, mold and fungus, damaging crops.
The good news for Kevin Stecks is that his rice crops are fine, but he hopes this excessive rain doesn't come next year too for the sake of all Arkansas farmers. "I don't know if this is going to be the weather pattern for the future but if it is farmers will have to change their farming practices," Stecks said.
