Being part of a community means big rewards. The community of coffee growers here on the North Coast of NSW are blessed with fertile soil, reasonable elevation and abundant rainfall, conditions nearly perfectly matched to the demands of the Arabica bean that is produced in this Subtropical region.
At harvest time, all hands are needed on deck. Balancing the budget is difficult through the year and at harvest time it is easy to become overwhelmed and drop your bundle, calling in extra casual staff when they are not really needed. An oversight can add many dollars to the bottom line and when margins are tight the last thing you need is a blowout.
During the second part of our harvest at Knockrow(the machine pick)
I resisted the temptation to call extra workers, knowing that the team that had begun the hand pick were competent and familiar with the process. I was confident the ten of us could get the job done without fuss.
Come the morning of the machine harvest there were no orange shirts to be seen anywhere amongst the rows. My gut sank and a few phone calls confirmed my suspicions: I had lost my workers.
Too hard, too long and not enough pay was my first guess.
I looked at the beautiful Corvan sitting majestically in the drive and wondered what was going to happen to all the coffee.
Then my phone rang. A member of the Subtropical Coffee Association called to see how the pick was progressing and to see if I needed help. Two calls later I had enough experience and manpower to get the job done.
Relationships like these can’t be bought or traded.
Thanks to Rob, Craig and Jos the job at Knockrow has been done.
Now to even the balance sheet I’m off to Hogarth Range to help with Craig's Harvest.
