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Lucy Bond pruning on Thawley Orchard
Collaboration key for 2022 Tasman harvest Tasman orchardists have tackled the ongoing labour shortages head-on this season, banding together to share the employment pool so the 2022 crop was harvested. ANNE HARDIE reports.
Heading into harvest, growers knew that with the labour constraints, it was going to be a challenge to get crops off trees. Apple and kiwifruit grower, Evan Baigent, says Covid-19 caused continuous disruptions on orchards too, with workers either falling ill with the virus or unable to work due to being classed as close contacts. “From one day to the next you wouldn’t know how many pickers you would have,” Evan says. “But what was really beneficial this year was growers helping growers out by sharing Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme workers.” He says growers were constantly on the phone with other growers to find pickers. When windows in the harvest arose between varieties on one orchard, pickers moved on to another orchard that needed a variety picked. “It seemed to work really well,” says Evan. “Most people 46
The ORCHARDIST : JULY 2022
got their apples picked generally on time.” The same applied for kiwifruit, with the start of Tasman’s gold kiwifruit crop – the majority of the region’s kiwifruit – harvested in April, right in the middle of the main apple harvest. By sharing pickers, Evan says growers were able to get crops harvested. Packhouses had the same issues with Covid-19, with some forced to slow production as the virus reduced numbers available to work each day. RSE workers who were due to arrive in March for packhouse work were delayed because of Covid, and the volcanic eruption in Tonga which made communication challenging. Motueka Fruitgrowers’ Association chairman, Richard Clarkson, says some growers tried a few different strategies at harvest to alleviate the labour challenges,
