CHERRY picking is in its second week at Young and Cherry Growers Australia president, Tom Eastlake of Fairfields Orchard on the southern end of town says the crop is “enormous”.
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“On the whole it’s going to be a record-breaking Australian crop this season,” Mr Eastlake said.
“We have pickers on the ground already but it may get harder to find more as the season progresses and in full swing.”
Help Temp Employment Agency principal, Joanne Johnson, Young, said she had already found work for 400 backpackers and local pickers, and the Department of Fair Trading was very happy with the employment procedures agreed to by all employers.
Help Temp handles most orchard picker placings in the region.
“All of my orchardist clients have agreed to employment arrangements and the department is happy with these, so pickers can work under the same pay rates and conditions,” Ms Johnson said.
Upwards of 1000 pickers will work this season with close to 95 per cent of backpackers coming from France.
Ms Johnson said there was competition for pickers from the Queensland blueberry industry and other cherry industry areas that have parallel picking times.
“While I think our numbers may be down, at this stage we don’t have one person on our waiting list and all pickers have been placed,” she said.
However, Mr Eastlake was concerned last year’s backpacker tax fiasco may hamper backpacker interests in Australia.
“When you have the national harvest labour service, a government body who helps industries find labour, saying it doesn’t think there will be enough employees this year, It’s a brutal situation,” he said.
“It’s a really big crop and we can work as hard as we can to bring the crop in, but we need some legislative change to promote and encourage more people to come here.
“The result of the backpacker tax review ended with a tax system as good as everywhere else, but the incentive is not strong enough to attract those holidaying seasonal workers.”
Mr Eastlake wants the federal government to offer better incentives to attract these workers.
Cherries are the theme of the 68th annual National Cherry Festival and Young plans to put on a big weekend of festivities on the first weekend of December.
The fixture has become a landmark tradition in rural Australia and people of many nationalities, ages and backgrounds seize the opportunity to taker part in the cherry harvest and also immerse themselves in the town’s friendly hospitality.
Friday December 1 begins outdoors with live music, crowning of the Cherry and Charity Queens climaxing with a big fireworks display and Troy Cassar-Daley performs at the Services Club.
Activities in the town’s main street on Saturday include buskers, market stalls, the cherry pie eating contest, massed bands and street parade and in the afternoon the Pro Rodeo returns after a 14 year absence at the Toompang Racecourse.
The Hilltop Hertiage Rally at Carrington Park will feature Australian made historic machinery, tractors, trucks, steam and stationary engines and market stalls, and Sunday’s park agenda starts with breakfast, bush poets, working dogs cherry pip spit and live music.
