Kumara growers are facing a double whammy, covering the cost of harvesting already rotten crops and the risk any salvaged vegetables could go the same way.
The exact losses across the industry aren't known yet, but some estimate 90 percent plus of kumara could be ruined after being soaked for days in lakes of rain water.
The harvest season is just getting underway, but some growers can already see and smell what's going on underneath the soil.
Then there's the problem of fixing the soil too - with it flushed of nutrients. Warwick Simpson grows Kumara in Ruawai South of Dargaville.
He's lost at least 30 percent of his crop, probably more and that's going to mean a talk with the bank.
