Many New Brunswick farmers are finding very little to harvest in their fields this season after a soggy spring and summer.

Crops, such as cereal grains, potatoes and corn, are all being affected by the poor weather conditions in recent months.

Martha Bowman, who owns The Pumpkin Lady farm and market in Jardineville, said her corn was almost two weeks late and it didn't do as well as usual. And that wasn't her only bad crop as Bowman said her tomato crops had problems with blight.

“It's a weather-related disease and you have to be right on top of it. It caught everybody by surprise and yes, and I lost about 80 per cent of my tomatoes,” Bowman said.

Poor harvests are being reported across the province.

The potato harvest is over in the northwestern corner of New Brunswick and many growers in that region say the season has been a disaster.

More than 800 millimetres of rain took its toll on potato plants in that area and initial estimates predict the harvest is down at least 30 per cent.

Joe Brennan, the chairman of Potatoes New Brunswick, said the losses could reach as high as $30 million.

"It sort of affects individuals very, very severely," Brennan said.

"We are certainly very concerned about that as the [agriculture] department people are as well. So I do think there's a willingness to do whatever can be done and we certainly are pursuing them to do that."

There are also concerns with the quality of the potatoes that were harvested. Growers expect to find many rotten potatoes in their warehouses.

"We certainly have much better storages now than in years in the past, with better ventilation systems to dry the crop out better. But having said that, yes, there will be some anxiety here for a while to watch that crop and see."

Brennan said the full extent of the damage won't be known for several weeks but it could mean consumers will see higher prices for potatoes in the near future.

Farmers concerned

Tom Lask, an organic farmer who owns and operates the Good Food Farm in Penobsquis, grows everything from garlic to cereal grains. And he too has been impacted by the wet weather.

“I'm finding that we have grain kernels that are not filled out, they don't have flour in them,” he said.

“I'm finding that the carrots are pale this year, the taste is down. … I haven't dug my potatoes yet, but reports are coming in that the potato crop is not what it was.”

Lask said some of his fields were so wet this spring that he couldn't plant them.

The organic farmer said he’s heard from some farmers who are worried that they haven’t made enough this season to pay to plant their crops next year.

Lask said many farmers will spend the winter months carefully planning what to plant next spring, and how much, in order to stretch their seed sowing dollars.