Farmers in Alabama's peanut belt are hopeful about their upcoming harvest.
Larry Wells of the Wiregrass Research and Extension Center says rainfall this year has been just what the crop needs: Not too dry and not too wet. That allows farmers more time to work in their fields to maintain the peanut plants.
Wells tells the Dothan Eagle that the crucial months for rain will still be August and September. He says receiving about 1 inch of rain a week will keep crops on the right path for harvest.
Rainfall patterns right now are encouraging for that to happen. The state of Alabama is completely drought-free, which is a big improvement from a year ago. At this time in 2016, about 62 percent of the state was either abnormally dry or in a drought.
Wells says peanut harvesting in the Wiregrass begins in mid-September.