THE region's farmers have received a welcome boost in the form of a new website ahead of what is predicted to be a bumper harvest.
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The state government's new Help Harvest website is designed to connect farmers impacted by the labour shortage, as a result of the coronavirus restrictions, to employees looking for work.
Similar to a one-stop shop for agricultural jobs, farmers needing workers and the unemployed can explore opportunities via the website.
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NSW Farmers president James Jackson said assistance to help fill the void of overseas workers was "desperately needed".
"I think we're down about 60,000 backpackers in the country, from 140,000 down to about 80,000," Mr Jackson said.
"We've been granting extensions to those backpackers that are in the country to stay here, work in agriculture and help pick some of the horticultural crops coming up.
"There's also what is predicted to be a potentially bin-busting cereal crop harvest in the grain belt.
"On top of that, there is around 500 shearers from New Zealand that would normally come across to help shear our national flock and to compensate that, anyone who can still hold a hand-piece is being recruited to help with the shearing effort.
"So we have got to take measures to get our rural workforce up to scratch."
Northern Tablelands MP and NSW Agricultural Minister Adam Marshall said the COVID-19 pandemic had caused problems for farmers and workers across the state.
"A high volume of primary industries labour generally comes from overseas and due to COVID-19 international travel restrictions, there simply isn't the number of farm workers the ag industry needs at the moment," Mr Marshall said.
"The Help Harvest NSW website will help to overcome this challenge by connecting job-seeking Australians with agricultural work opportunities in NSW.
"At a time when we are just beginning to emerge from drought, our state's farmers cannot afford to miss out on the financial uplift that comes from a strong harvest."
Mr Jackson said the launch of the website was timely as other natural forces may impact the upcoming harvest.
"There is a bit of concern wet weather coupled with a shorter staff of rural workers could mean some crops don't come off at the ideal time," he said.
"The weather guys are predicting a La Nina weather system which could bring a wetter than average spring and summer, which in turn could limit harvesting opportunities.
"That's why it is so important to ensure we have enough workers to harvest the crops in time because the weather could also play a part.
"It's also important because a lot of farmers haven't been able to bank a crop in several years and it would be devastating if they were to miss out."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
