A BUMPER crop of NSW North Coast blueberries makes a welcome change after last year's big dry but profits could fall, like the fruit, while harvest labour remains locked behind closed borders.
Growers who have made sure their berries land in buckets will pay a premium.
Andrew Bell of Mountain Blue Orchards, Tabulam, where the five year old farm is looking its "best ever", said incentives would be paid to encourage pickers to remain right to season's end.
International border closures mean valuable Pacific Island labour is locked out - a big disappointment to growers who admire their attitude.
Interestingly, the Queensland closure promoted suitable numbers of pickers to stay put at Tabulam.
Smaller growers in the Coffs Harbour district don't have the same retention power and they say October will be a challenging month as most of the spring fruit ripens at once.
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Kellie Potts at Sandy Beach says Queensland's border closure in August prompted hundreds of pickers to flee early to the strawberry fields and leave blueberries behind.
Her labour contractor used to have 170 workers on his books now there's just 26.
Jobkeeper payments only make the situation worse, with capable, locally unemployed people unwilling to work outside for piece work.
"When you get that money each week nobody is motivated to work in the sun," she said.
Ms Potts says most new pickers don't last a week in the job and it's only after that when someone can start to really make money.
Reasonable conditions under the shade of netting and the promise of a beer at day's end help make working for Ms Potts a pleasure, but she, like the rest of the industry, will continue to pay for filling buckets.
"You can't motivate workers by paying them an hourly rate," she says. "They pick like Count Dracula."
Instead, the piece rate is matched to a moderate pace but 30 per cent of her employees make 15pc more than the casual rate, or $27/hr. Her top pickers earn between $30 and $40/hr.
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