Millions of daffodil stems will rot in the fields this spring because growers face severe labor shortages, and they worry that this may mean the end of the entire industry.
“If we can’t recruit more pickers, there will be no daffodil industry. The situation is very serious,” said James Hoskin of Fentungolland Farm near Truro, Cornwall.
Some growers expect that as many as 75% of the crop will not be picked this spring due to a lack of workers. Many smaller growers plan to abandon the cultivation of daffodils altogether, trying to recruit local people but failing to bring enough people to the fields.
Cornwall’s mild climate and light intensity make it the core of a British industry worth £100 million, with approximately 80% of the world’s daffodils Grew up in the principality. Harvesting starts in the first week of January, and requires a labor force of approximately 2,500 people to pick more than 1 billion rhizomes.
In the past few decades, growers have relied on Eastern European labor to do the hard work of picking each daffodil by hand in all weathers.This The end of free action However, after Brexit and Covid restrictions, the spring of 2021 has become one of the toughest seasons in the history of hiring workers. Approximately 275 million rhizomes remain underground. The upcoming season looks more challenging.
“If you only pick 50% this spring, you will see 25% of them in the next spring. This means you are out of business,” said Hoskin, the fourth-generation heir of his family in Fentongollan. Plant daffodils. “There is no choice but to stop growing daffodils. This is the end of the UK’s world-leading industry.
“Daffodils are a symbol of spring-bringing joy and hope to people in the gloomy days. If nothing changes, there won’t be so many people in the supermarket this spring. You can’t import daffodils from anywhere else-Kang Wall is the only place where you can grow them during the year. But if you can’t harvest crops, you have no business. Full stop.”
The owners of Varfell Farms in Hosking and Penzance, one of the largest growers in the country, said they had tried to recruit locals, but with little success. Varfell recently hosted an open day event on the farm, which was widely promoted in local social media groups and newspapers. Only four people appeared.
Hoskin also struggled to hire locals. “We always have three or four local pickers, but we need 60. I currently have about 20 people. Most of them come back to us every year and have already obtained settlement status in the UK,” he said.
The best pickers earn up to £30 an hour, and Varfell’s average wage last spring was £14 an hour. But it turns out that outdoor work in all weathers is not attractive. Many farms are also remote and require workers to live on site. “These seasonal jobs cannot be mechanized and are not attractive to local labor,” said Alex Newey, owner of Varfell Farms. Due to lack of pickers, he expects to pick only a quarter of this season’s crop.
The government has promised to extend the visa program to allow farmers to bring in seasonal workers from overseas. Currently it only applies to fruits and vegetables, excluding non-edible crops.However, last week, Immigration Minister Kevin Foster MP Tell members of parliament On the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, non-food crops will be added to the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (Saws).
But only two weeks before the start of the harvest, and no official announcement, the growers said that if they want to save this year’s harvest, they need to start recruiting now. “If the government announces a visa program that includes ornamental crops next week, we may speed up recruitment by early February. At least then there is a future for this industry,” Newey said. “We hope it will happen, but it must happen as soon as possible.”
“We have heard of government promises before,” Hoskin said. “We are still waiting.”
The Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was contacted for comment, but did not respond.
