Spring is here, and I am looking forward to warmer weather!

Hello to our growers, stakeholders, and industry members. I have to say, I am looking forward to some warmer weather. This weather reminds me of the early 1970s. I was just a young boy back then. Living on the farm (in Carnarvon), I distinctly remember this type of weather at this time of year. The weeds are loving it, which creates extra work for growers to maintain on-farm hygiene and they cause issues with harvesting — especially tomatoes.

Labour continues to be an issue in our industry. The prices are exceptionally good, which is a positive, but you need to produce a premium product to get high prices and with this weather it is extremely challenging.

The Gascoyne Food Festival Long Table Dinner was held this year, and the usual suspects where there, which was great to see. It gave me an opportunity to catch up with the Agriculture Minister Hon. Alannah MacTiernan MLC., growers and friends to discuss Carnarvon and Horticulture in a social environment. The locally-grown produce was very well presented by the chefs and as usual it was delicious! Congratulations must go to The Gascoyne Food Council and the Chair Paul Kelly on producing another successful event. If there was anything that I would change about the event is that I would revert to a Long Table Lunch instead of the dinner; I just feel like the lunch createsan anticipated atmosphere and warmth (literally) to the event.

The prices for vegetable products have been exceptionally good this season. My sources at Market City say ‘they do not look like coming down any time soon’.

On the other hand, labour is still a major issue. However, I have noticed that there are more backpackers coming into town looking for work, which has enabled us to grow our workforce. There are a lot of ads out on social media to entice them to come to Carnarvon as there is plenty of work available, however, there is a problem with housing in this region and with the new workers coming into town, accommodation is becoming a problem. There are little-to-no rentals available, which makes it an immediate issue for workers to put a roof over their heads. With all these issues in our industry, growers are working harder, especially this season, just to get the produce to market.

With the labour shortage, we have struggled to harvest the produce in the period that we are accustomed to. I do not like the cold but fortunately it has been a chilly winter here in Carnarvon, which has allowed the capsicums to stay on the vine longer to ripen bright red before harvesting. The tomatoes on the other hand need to be harvested more regularly, otherwise they will become too ripe for market. It certainly has been a juggling act this season for growers identifying what to do when with labour at a short supply.

Prices for vegetable products have been exceptionally good this season.