At the end of June the strong rain damaged Rousoux Plants cherry production in Berloz. Over half of the harvest has been lost as the cherries full of water exploded. “We had 60mm of rain within a few hours” says Nicolas Goffin.
With no way of selling the cherries they are either left on the tree or the ground. “We must have harvested 30-40% of our total harvest”. With damaged strawberries they must sort through them at harvest and manual labour is expensive. “When all is well, depending on their status, a person costs €8-10 an hour and a good picker can do 15kg an hour, so there there is a way of earning a living. But as soon as they must start selecting, they are twice as slow and pick 2kg an hour, it is no longer possible”. Following the first small harvest the Goffins have decided to stop picking and to leave the fruits to rot on the trees. Nicolas Goffin says that “If they are not good, then it is pointless as our reputation is founded on the quality of our products”.
They could invest in an anti-rain cover, but this costs around €40,000-70,000 /ha. The Goffins own about 15 ha of sweet and acid cherry orchards, so it would be a heavy investment.