Australian strawberry growers are trying to extend their season after some farmers lost up to 70 percent of their crop earlier this year when parts of southeast Queensland had heavy rain and flooding.
Queensland Strawberry Growers’ Association president Adrian Schultz says farmers experienced a rough start during the most profitable part of the season.
“We rely on that early income to pay off all our set-up costs, and of course, that didn’t happen this year, so a lot of growers are trying to go for as long as they can in order to try and recoup those set-up costs and try and earn some money in the bank to go into the next season,” he told www.zinc96.com.
Mr. Schultz says the floods in Victoria also mean there is still demand for Queensland strawberries.
“I believe that this has been one of the coolest Octobers for many years, and that’s also allowed us to keep going because, generally, the temperatures are a lot hotter, and that’s the reason why we don’t grow strawberries here during summer; it’s just too hot.”
If possible heavy rain predicted this week holds off, Mr. Schultz says the season might be able to continue for another couple of weeks.