CLEAR LAKE, Iowa - Erik Furleigh, owner of Furleigh Farms, says the weather has been in their favor.
"We have enjoyed the extra water, whereas for others, it may have even been catastrophic to them. It has really benefited us," he said.
The thirsty plants use about 2 inches of water each week. Since the area has seen so much precipitation lately, it has really produced a bumper crop.
"This year has been a lot better harvest than last year. The main reason is last year we had a lot of winter injury. It was a cold year with no snow," said Furleigh.
With plenty of sunshine Thursday, lots of people were stopping by to pick the berries.
"We had a lot of folks come out. A lot of first-time pickers actually that saw the sign on the highway. That's nice to see," he said.
Nicole Weiss-Johnson took her kids out to Furleigh Farms to pick some strawberries, she said, "We actually have been looking to come out here for a couple of years and we just always miss the season, so this is the first time we actually caught it."
The kids had a blast, rooting through the green leaves to pick the sweet treats right off the plants.
"They love it! They are little gardeners, so they really like coming out here and picking produce and they have a good time with it," she said.
