By DANNY BUTTLER
KOOWEERUP asparagus is going unpicked while locals turn their back on the work.
Last week’s warm spell saw the vegetable crops bursting skywards with growers needing to cut the stalks before they go to seed.
But a lack of interest from local workers means the growers have to rely on a small army of imported asparagus pickers who are brought to Australia under special visa conditions from Vanuatu.
Kooweerup grower Frank Bombaci said farmers had no choice but to bring workers in from the Pacific island nation.
“By law we have to advertise locally for the labourers, but the response has been appalling,” he said.
“The main response we have had has been from backpackers.”
Mr Bombaci said the Australian residents who did contact them about employment have not been willing to follow through and help with the harvest.
“Half a dozen or so looked good on their resumes, but when we rang them up, they just weren’t interested.”
Pickers can earn up to $800 a week for the three-month period until December.
Asparagus needs to be constantly harvested during the growing season to ensure that multiple stalks can be cut from each plant.
Without reliable labourers to cut the stalks, the plants quickly go to seed and are useless for the rest of the growing season.
“They have to be reliable, they have to turn up every day without fail,” Mr Bombaci said.
The warm spring weather and recent rainfall has seen a fast start to the harvest season.
While overseas workers have already arrived and can be seen hard at work in the paddocks, Mr Bombaci said growers would prefer a steady growing season that allows them to keep on top of growth.
“That warm night we had – I think it only got down to about 17 degrees – really got us going,” he said.
“Hopefully, it will keep the growth going for a while now.”
