After a challenging winter, berry growers across South Canterbury are preparing for the busy holiday season. Some fear there might be shortages, others are confident they will have plenty to go around.
Donald Butler, the owner of Butler’s Fruit Farms and Cafe in Waimate, said it had been a “pretty challenging” winter for the business, but the outlook was positive. “We are picking strawberries every day. … We are starting out on a really heavy and major crop of raspberries and strawberries. It looks very encouraging.”
He said the orchard’s regular strawberry plant suppliers, in the North Island, were hit by flooding earlier this year, which affected availability. However, the orchard managed to source enough plants to continue operating, he said. “There will be plenty of raspberries and strawberries for before, during and after Christmas.”
Jo Malone, owner of Redwood Cherries and Berries said, with fewer plants and unpredictable weather, they are anticipating a shortage for Christmas. Malone added that they had been impacted by the “very wet” growing season in the North Island, which affected the availability of new strawberry plants nationwide.
Source: stuff.co.nz