'If there's no water, what's the point?' Female farmers in Arizona – a photo essay

Arizona has the highest proportion of female farmers - but conditions in this dry desert landscape aren't easy, and rural isolation has created a tapestry of challenges

By 9am, it's already 100F (38C). In the desert afternoons, rain gathers on the horizon, teasing - and then it disappears. There is so much heaviness, so much waiting.

I pulled on to the ranch of Anastasia Rabin with Audra Mulkern, a Washington-based photographer and founder of the Female Farmer Project. We were on assignment for a story and chasing a statistic: according to the most recent US census, Arizona is the state with the highest proportion of female farm operators.