WITH strawberry and cherry harvests ramping up, growers and industry members are hopeful of average to slightly above average yields, with fruit quality also expected to fare well.
Cherry Growers SA executive officer, Susie Green, said harvest in the Riverland had started in early November, while peak period for the Adelaide Hills would start within the week.
She said most growers would be finished by late December.
A cold and wet flowering period in early spring hurt some varieties, but Ms Green said most growers had planted multiple varieties to spread and minimise risk.
"There are some steady and reliable standouts that always perform better than others, like Lapins and Stella, but there are so many different varieties on the marketplace, that can be a bit hit and miss," she said.
"The trees aren't overly heavy in their cropping, so there is some good sized fruit, and we expect quality to be pretty good too.
"What is potentially going to be the biggest challenge is what the weather does from here on in; so far it hasn't been too extreme one way or the other to create any significant issues. Fine and mild days would be the perfect finish for cherries."
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With labour shortages posing threats to the horticultural industry, Ms Green said the close proximity of the Adelaide Hills - where more than 90 per cent of SA cherries are grown - to Adelaide, would put growers at an advantage to fill harvest positions.
She said uncertainty surrounded cherry export demand and overseas market access, which would be a major factor influencing domestic prices, but fortunately domestic cherry demand remained strong.
Looking to strawberries, Berries Australia Vic/SA strawberries industry development officer, Angela Atkinson, said most SA strawberry growers grew the Albion variety, which had fared well thanks to the absence of extended heatwaves and high rainfall tallies.
But she said other factors would cause headaches for growers.
"Most of the SA growers I have talked to are falling behind in their picking, most could be 10-20pc down on worker numbers," she said.
"When the strawberries are ripe they need to be picked, if they sit there a bit longer, there will be issues with shelf life and quality.
"Because the pandemic began towards the end of last season, some growers chose to plant less plants than they normally would, because they were concerned they wouldn't be able to get fruit off the plants."
Contrary to the "short and sharp" cherry harvest period, workers for strawberry harvest are required for a longer duration, possibly until May, depending on weather.
In a push to boost seasonal workforce numbers in SA, the state government has committed $4.45-million to a Regional Jobs and Incentive Program, aiming to create a multi-pronged approach to fill vacancies and boost employment in regional areas.
The program will include incentives of up to $2000 for students moving to regions to take up regional jobs, while support will be available for businesses bringing workers into the state as part of the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme.
Despite the concerns surrounding labour shortages, Woodside and Uraidla strawberry, cherry and apple grower Malcolm Parker, AF Parker and Sons, remained optimistic that he would be able to fill harvest positions.
"It's the quietest time of the year for vineyards, so we don't have to compete for workers there, and most overseas university students in Australia will be staying in the country over Christmas this year, so while we may have lost a few (in backpacker numbers), we can likely gain a few others," he said.
He said any labour shortage problems would be experienced during the overlapping strawberry and cherry harvest during the rest of December, but the fruit itself was looking good.
"Last year we had smoke and dust, this year until about a month ago we had mud and rain, but the bushes are looking healthy; we're possibly picking a bit more than last year," he said.
An event to celebrate strawberry harvest starting was held at Romeo's Foodland in Rundle Mall last month, while a similar event to celebrate cherry harvest kicking off was held at the SA Produce Markets at Pooraka recently.
The events raised funds for the Childhood Cancer Association, and were also a "fantastic opportunity" to encourage consumers to buy SA produce, according to Market Fresh SA marketing manager, Penny Reidy.
"We have about 100 stores in the Pick A Local, Pick SA program now, whenever people see the big red logo in stores, they know their money is going into the local economy and supporting SA growers, and the produce is local and fresh," she said.
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