Crop in danger
Cape Breton farm struggles with dwindling numbers of strawberry pickers
MILL CREEK, N.S. — With a deft hand, Steve Ash kneels down in the soil and plucks a strawberry from the vine.
“You can find them at any grocery store, but you won’t find them like this,” Ash says, holding one up.
He takes another and shifts it into his red basket, which is nearly filled to the brim. He doesn’t take just any berry; he chooses the one that looks best and quickly breaks it off.
He uses them to make homemade jam, freezing some for the winter.
Ash, 67, is from Sydney, N.S., and has been coming to Rendell’s Farm every summer to pick strawberries for as long as he can remember.
“I’ve threatened to (stop picking) once or twice because my knees got too bad, but that was an idea dropped,” he said. “I love picking berries. It’s enjoyable, a way to get away from the noise.”
He is one of a few, though, that dutifully come each year. Rendell’s Farm has reported dwindling numbers of strawberry pickers for years now, a problem that appears to be getting worse.
The business recently put a call out on its Facebook page, requesting strawberry pickers for $6 a flat, or $12 an hour with two flats filled each hour.
“I’ve gotta cut back on my acres because we can’t get (enough) pickers to pick them,” said Rendell’s Farm owner Eddie Rendell.
He said he needs at least 50 strawberry pickers each day to meet quota and to avoid crops rotting. He had about a dozen on July 14 and 24 on July 15.
He said in the meantime there are plenty of U-pickers out, which should help save the crop that was in danger of being lost before word picked up on social media.
“There’s more people coming out on the U-pick. People really enjoy coming out and picking fresh berries,” said Rendell.
AGING FARMERS
Rendell said he’s concerned by the lack of interest in agriculture from many people these days.
“We’re living in a corporate world. Nobody seems to care where our food is coming from,” said Rendell. “We’re depending on other countries for our food.”
Data from the federal Department of Agriculture show that the average age of those working in agriculture has been on the rise for decades now in Nova Scotia.
In 1991, the average farmer was 48.3 years old. In 2016, that increased to 56.5.
Rendell said he knows of many farms in Cape Breton and in Nova Scotia that also struggle to get sufficient labourers and likely wouldn’t exist anymore if it wasn’t for temporary foreign workers.
“Locals just … they don’t want to do it. It’s hard work. I’m not saying it’s not,” said Rendell.
“You can find them at any grocery store, but you won’t find them like this.” Steve Ash
Sydney