Irishtown, N.B. orchard owner facing huge losses between weather and labour shortages

Irishview Estates Apple Orchard owner Reginald Petitpas says he is expecting to incur huge losses this year due to a combination of bad weather and labour shortages.

In an interview on Wednesday, he told Global News he believes he’s already lost roughly half of his crop due to post-tropical storm Fiona in late September.

“Once we started picking and shipping to our processor in Nova Scotia, we saw a lot of bruises on the apples. Because of the wind, the apples are hitting together and we probably have up to 25 per cent bruising. So if you got 25 per cent bruised and 25 per cent on the ground, you end up with a 50 per cent loss,” he said.

While he does have crop insurance, he is unsure how much the payout will be.

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While some of the orchard serves as a U-pick, most of the apples are sent to Nova Scotia to be processed and sold in grocery stores.

Between the cost of transportation having doubled this year and the increased cost of equipment, he’s expecting to see a huge financial loss.

With more wind and rain in the forecast in the coming weeks, he said it’s crucial to harvest as many apples as possible as soon as possible.

He simply doesn’t have the workforce to get it done.

“This year we had 52 people that we thought were going to come. On harvest day, only about 30 showed up, so we’ve been struggling,” he said.

Most of the apple pickers are temporary foreign workers from Jamaica.

He’s put out a social media callout asking for help picking the apples.

A handful of locals, like retiree Cecile Garland, have answered the call.

“They’re seeking for help, I’m going to come and see if I can help out in any way. I’m not sure if I’m going to be picking out the apples or sorting the apples or … wherever they want to put me I’ll help!” Garland said.

Petitpas is calling for changes to the employment insurance system in order to incentivize workers.

“Here we are with a crop that we’re probably going to have to leave on the trees this year. I think that’s awful,” he said.

Global News reached out to the federal ministry responsible for the EI program for comment.