Category Archives: Harvest Trail Talk

Trail Talk

Do you need help finding workers for your harvest or horticulture activities?

Consider using Harvest Trail Services to assist you. No cost, no obligation, no risk. Contact the Harvest Trail Information Service or your nearest Harvest Trail Services Office. South West WA Rural Enterprises Australia Unit 1, 14 Burler Drive, Vasse, WA 6280 08 6166 9124 hts@ruralenterprises.com.au   Top End NT Farmers Shop 15A, Coolalinga Shopping Centre,460 […]

Worker Profile – Tamara Kartheininger

Harvest work provides flexibility, friendships – and the occasional quokka sighting Harvest work can be so much more than just extra money. For traveller Tamara Kartheininger, it’s about meeting great people across the country, experiencing all types of work, and seizing the opportunity to see some incredible wildlife. Tamara and her partner are engineers from […]

Grower Profile – Oakes & Sons, Qld

With COVID-19 disrupting backpacker availability for fruit picking and harvest work, Harvest Trail Services are helping Australian growers explore a new market for staff. Their own backyard. Oakes & Sons, a family-run business producing pineapples and sugar cane, operates at seven locations around the Maroochy River in Queensland. As the COVID-19 pandemic set in, brothers […]

Site Profile – Tasmania Harvest Area

Tasmania is affectionately known as the Apple Isle, due to the outstanding apple orchards found in abundance there.  The first apple tree was planted on Bruny Island in 1788 when William Bligh was anchored there.  Tasmania is also located in an area known as The Roaring Forties which refers to that part of the world […]

Commodity in Focus – Garlic

The Harvest Trail supports many garlic growers across Australia with sourcing labour during peak harvesting periods. Let us share our knowledge of this versatile superfood. Production Garlic is a plant in the Allium family; a close relative of onions, leeks, shallots and chives. Australia currently produces between 3,000 and 3,500 tonnes of garlic each year. […]

How the Harvest Trail website can help you…

The Commonwealth Government funds Harvest Trail Services which aim to connect workers with employers in harvest areas across Australia. Part of this service includes hosting the Harvest Trail website www.harvesttrail.gov.au This site provides a jobs board for all harvest and horticulture vacancies in all states. The site attracts over 20,000 visitors each month and continues […]

Fair Farms – the Australian choice for horticulture growers

Fair Farms is a national training and certification initiative that is cultivating fair and responsible employment practices in Australian horticulture. The industry-led program provides support and training to farm businesses and a pathway to independent third-party certification. The need for a program like Fair Farms was identified after the Fair Work Ombudsman published the 2018 […]

Accommodation for Seasonal Workers

Providing housing will give a farm a much larger choice of seasonal workers. Consider it an investment rather than a cost, and you could save production losses from lack of labour No beds, no workers! Regardless whether you are considering employing returning backpackers, students, or enticing Aussies from their city lives, limited accommodation may be […]

Vigilance – The key to farm safety

Here is an article by Kiara Stacey, Journalist with the Stock Journal – Incidents of on-farm deaths have decreased by 20% in 2021 nationally, compared with 2020, according to the latest figures in the Non-intentional Farm Related Incidents in Australia 2021 report prepared by AgHealth Australia. In 2021, tractors were listed the highest cause of […]

Tips to secure a viable workforce

Successful strategies used by growers to secure a viable workforce in times of significant labour shortage? Over the past few years, Harvest Trail Service providers have collected information from a large number of growers and employers across the country. Here are some of the most successful strategies used by growers to secure and retain a […]