The cherry trees in the Jerte Valley, in the Spanish province of Caceres, are in full bloom, but due to the milder temperatures and abundant rainfall in March, the harvest is expected to be delayed by at least two weeks compared to the previous two seasons.
"In the two previous years, we've had very dry and warmer springs compared to this year, which has been unusually rainy and a little colder," says Mónica Tierno, general manager of the Agrupación de Cooperativas del Valle del Jerte (Jerte Valley Cooperative Association).
"For this reason, flowering has been delayed, and while we can usually start harvesting the first cherries at the end of April, this year, we expect to start around May 10, although a lot will depend on the weather in the coming weeks. If temperatures rise and they stay warm, we might recover a bit of the delay," she says.
Despite the delayed flowering, the rain has not been detrimental to the cherry trees. In previous years, we've had abundant and constant rainfall at the peak of the harvest period, causing significant production losses.
The cherry acreage remains stable in the Jerte Valley, where planting frames and varieties continue to be renewed in order to better meet the market's needs. The lack of workers is still one of the main stumbling blocks for cherries and other seasonal products with high labor requirements within just a few months.
"Since the pandemic, the labor shortage has worsened. This will be the first year in which we will be hiring workers at source in other countries to cover this need," said the general manager of the Agrupación de Cooperativas del Valle del Jerte.
For more information:
Mónica Tierno Díaz
Agrupación de Cooperativas del Valle del Jerte
Ctra. Nacional 110, km 381
10614 - Valdastillas, Cáceres. Spain
Tel.: +34 927 471070
[email protected]
www.ac-vallejerte.es