Dartmouth farmers needed rain last year after a long drought wreaked havoc on crops, but this season's full-force precipitation may be too much for farmers to contend with.

At Alderbrook Farm, a wet spring has thrown off the entire summer growing season, explained farmer Tucker Manley. Heavy rains that persisted for weeks turned fields into giant mud pits, making it impossible to plant anything.

He estimated the weather has thrown the planting schedule off by about a month. It’s a major problem because the farm carefully times its plantings.

“We do sequential planting, so if one doesn’t mature on time, they all mature at once,” Manley said.

While Alderbrook was hit by the drought last year, effects were not as severe as other farms in the area. The farm has plenty of irrigation from multiple wells on the property. In fact, this year might turn out worse.

“We had a better head start last year,” Manley said. “This is a much tougher beginning to the season.”

Conditions are slowly getting better. Sunlight and temperatures that soared into the 90s last week helped give fields a needed drying out. Farm owner Nancy Manley noted flower gardens have finally been planted three weeks behind schedule.

Apponagansett Farm on Elm Street is also battling Mother Nature. The rainy start to the season rendered several fields unusable, but farm co-owner Susan Murray already had a plan to combat the weather. She shifted her crops to dryer fields to compensate.

“It was very wet, but we have fields that dry up really quick,” Murray said. “We have to adjust in the moment. We can’t predict the weather.”

Last season’s drought brought with it plenty of deer and other woodland animals in search of food. Without a drought, she doesn’t expect it to be as bad this year, but it’s always been a problem she watches out for.

“The deer have been getting worse every year,” Murray said.