Vegetable growers say they're struggling to survive as winter weather lashes the country and churns up fields.
One family business in Auckland says over 70 percent of its crops have been damaged - setting it back almost half a million dollars.
A mud bath is no place for healthy crops but for Purewal Growers, this is their day-to-day reality thanks to months of heavy rain.
"The crops are struggling to grow because they're just so saturated and the mud is literally so sticky, they're not able to breathe," said Austin Singh Purewal.
Even just getting to the crops to harvest them is a struggle.
Austin Singh Purewal has grown up on a farm - he says this winter has been the worst so far.
"This winter, we've lost 70 percent of production," he said.
And the cost of Mother Nature is decimating their small family business.
"We've lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, over the half a million mark for sure," he said. "We're just literally trying to survive day in, day out."
One field should have been six weeks' worth of supply. But the seeds haven't germinated - meaning a whole field of crops will go to waste.
Vegetables NZ said severe weather has impacted growers right across the country.
"For supermarket shelves, that actually does make a difference," said Vegetables NZ chair John Murphy.
Meal-kit company My Food Bag has been forced to switch out vegetables like baby kale and green beans.
Its CEO said this weekend they've turned around the highest number of substitutions for recipes for 2022.
But growers are determined to get through a tough winter.
"People are still really excited about bringing healthy vegetables to New Zealand," Murphy said.
So you can continue to enjoy your 5+ a day.
