Blueberries are a lucrative crop for the UK. For many years, Scotland had the October market to itself as the short season moved around countries in the temperate zones, leaving a window when these fruits were at their peak after a long Scottish summer, and they were the only ones available.
For the best part of a decade, Peter and Melanie Thomson have been growing blueberries on their Blairgowrie farm. Their crop grew to cover 25 hectares, with 300 tons of berries coming off the bushes, all picked by hand. But all is not well. Currently, the farm is in a race to get their last blueberry harvest in by the end of the month. The bushes, which have been tended for 10 years, are being taken out and this 100-year-old family farm faces an uncertain future.
Brexit seems to be a big part of the problem. Skilled pickers from Europe are hard to find. Arrivals under the UK Government’s seasonal worker scheme – mainly from Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan – are new to the job and the price of labor has soared. Slower hands mean it takes longer to fill those punnets.
Policy manager for crops at the National Farmers’ Union of Scotland David Michie: “All soft fruit farms have been hit massively. It is very difficult to get and to keep workers. It is, of course, right that farmworkers are paid well but we are seeing Scottish farms being displaced by cheaper imports from countries where wages aren’t relative.”
Melanie and Peter were horrified at the thought of many thousands of berries rotting on the bushes when so many people are struggling to make ends meet. So, they decided to open their fields to the community, calling out for volunteers to save the crop and get it out to those who could use it.
Source: thenational.scot