Fruit picking in Yorkshire: Meet the farmers who want to recruit local workers this summer

Janet Oldroyd is one of five generations of her family to have run E Oldroyd & Sons, and their farms are part of the Rhubarb Triangle near Wakefield.

Although they are best known for the premium-grade rhubarb they grow for London's hotels and restaurants, Janet also has a contract to supply Sainsbury's with fresh strawberries during the summer months.

Normally she would recruit around 60 Romanian labourers via an agency to pick the crop at Hopefield Farm in Rothwell, but this year only 30 managed to travel to the UK before the lockdown began.

She is now hoping students and self-employed people from the local area will step in and ensure punnets are delivered to the supermarkets.

Although agricultural employment agencies have reported a surge of interest in farm work this season, growers have complained that too few people have actually accepted the jobs on offer. The government launched the Pick for Britain campaign to recruit a 'land army' to replace around 80,000 seasonal migrants who travel to British farms each summer, mostly from eastern Europe. These workers tend to live in shared on-site accommodation to allow them to work long days with early starts.

The Alliance of Ethical Labour Providers said it had received nearly 50,000 applications of interest to fill farm vacancies but only 6,000 had accepted a subsequent interview.

Janet has warned prospective applicants that pickers are expected to work eight-hour days and are paid by the amount of strawberries they collect to encourage productivity.

She has even been contacted by parents wanting to bring their children to shifts and who believed the job would be similiar to a family day out at a pick-your-own strawberry field.

"Our strawberries are grown on tables inside tunnels and we start picking in the first week of June. Our Romanian workers usually live on-site, so I can provide accommodation for students and people travelling from outside of the area.

"My main problem is reliability. Because the tunnels can become so hot and oppressive in warm weather, we have to start early - sometimes at 5.30am. It's an eight-hour day and the work will last until the end of September.

"I have taken names from people interested in taking the jobs, but my worry is that when the lockdown is ended, furloughed and self-employed people will just disappear. It would really suit students, it's the perfect job for them, but I will interview all applicants.

"They've got to have a National Insurance number - I've had people phoning to ask if they can bring their children. It's not PYO! They are coming to do a day's work, not just pick for an hour.

"They need to be aware that they will be outdoors every day for a few months, for eight hours straight. They need to be reliable and to turn up every day.

"We supply supermarkets and we have to pick when the fruit is at its best - we can't just leave it until the next day.

"If they really commit to it and crack on with it, they can earn more once they are paid on piecework, but when they first start the pay is hourly.

"Ideally they need to be able to get to work by themselves, as there often isn't public transport running early enough and I don't really want people travelling by bus and possibly bringing coronavirus onto the farm."

Although the Oldroyds hired local staff in the past, they have come to rely on their migrant labour force to meet the demands of the supermarket supply chain.

"The main issue for growers has always been reliability. With the early starts at different times subject to the weather conditions, the jobs fit in well with being able to live on the site. In the past we had local workers, but now we need more people. Some of the Romanians will come here to pick the forced rhubarb in winter, go home to rest and return in the summer for the soft fruits.

"The supermarkets had put strawberries under a capping system so their depots could focus on essential items during the panic buying, but that's been lifted now. There is no reason to stockpile strawberries! Wimbledon has been cancelled but we can still sit and eat them in the garden."

The Pearson family, who farm at Sinnington, on the edge of the North York Moors, run a pick-your-own operation but also grow strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and gooseberries commercially using a team of local workers.

Instead of using EU recruitment agencies, the Pearsons rely on university students to harvest their fruit.

Janet Pearson even has a waiting list this year after an increase in enquiries.

"We are only a small fruit farm and have never used migrant workers. We have a wonderful local labour force, mainly local university students who come back each year.

"This year I have had offers of help from local people who would love to work whilst they are furloughed, or from other students who would normally be working in the hospitality industry.

"We have a waiting list of people wanting to work here and should any of our regular workers get sick or go into isolation, we will be able to call on them. We are fortunate with good local staff for our season, and fortunate that we can easily modify our picking methods to maintain social distancing. I just hope we can sell all of the fruit!"

To apply for fruit picking jobs at Hopefield Farm in Rothwell, email Janet Oldroyd at [email protected]