The potato harvest in central Manitoba has not gone according to plan this year.

Dan Sawatzky is the Manager of the Keystone Potato Producers Association. He says before Friday, they were sitting at a little less than 50 per cent of potatoes harvested.

"It's not a good situation, but growers continue to be somewhat optimistic. We have to have the weather cooperate with us to be able to get what's out there," says Sawatzky. "The crop is very good, so that's a positive note. Hopefully, we can bring it in."

It was rough at the start of the harvest due to the heat. Farmers couldn't put potatoes in their sheds. Sawatzky notes if you put them in too hot, they won't store. He says now it's the rain affecting them.

"It's been a struggle because of all the moisture that we've received," says Sawatzky. "Farmers are in kind of a start and stop mode. When it rains, they're out of the field for a while. In the last few days, some of them have gotten back on and are making a little headway."

Sawatzky says now there's a new risk the farmers have to face.

"Normally, we'd like to be close to finished by the first of October," says Sawatzky. "The last few years it has gone beyond that. Certainly, it's not unheard of for people to be digging up to the Thanksgiving weekend. The longer the harvest drags out after October 1st, the more risk of frost."