More bad weather? Potato farmers will take a rain check

Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board, says he hopes potato fields will be able to absorb a lot of the moisture from Tuesday's rain.

Island potato farmers are hoping Tuesday's heavy rain isn't a sign of things to come. About 2,800 hectares of potatoes were left in the ground last fall when rain and cold weather made it impossible to harvest them.

Greg Donald, general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board, said this year growers have already dealt with a dry summer, post-tropical storm Dorian, a frost and now heavy rain.

Greg Donald:

“Hopefully it's not déjà vu of last year. It started to rain in the fall and really didn't stop until things froze up. We do not need anymore winds, rain or frost for the next month or so.”

The Environment Canada forecast for Tuesday had 20 to 40 millimetres of rain falling during the day, and another 10 to 20 millimetres overnight.

Donald is hoping the ground will be able to absorb a lot of the moisture. He said if that's the case, producers will likely be looking at an average crop this year.