The apple harvest is already starting in Berry

Hugues and Florence Sochet manage 40 hectares of orchards in Saint-Palais, north of Bourges. Les Vergers de la Gaucherie have hired thirty seasonal workers : ” We start with the gala “explains Hugues. ” Cis the first to be ripe. She is quite red. We still lost a bit of caliber because of the two weeks of very hot weather at the beginning of August, but in the end the result wasn’t that bad. The tree goes into safety when it is really too hot and the apples no longer grow. We also had some burn damage. That is to say that the sun burned the most exposed apples. ”

Twelve varieties will follow one another until mid-November. ” We’ll end with the pink lady. We are happy to see that all the pickers involved are present. We have no defections at this time. We did it well in advance and that makes things easier. We have Ukrainians, Eritreans, Moroccans, etc. We try to accommodate them to make it easier for them to come. We also have a few retirees coming. ”

Amar, soon to be 70, is one of the most efficient. For him, apples are as fragile as eggs and so you need the right gesture to pick them: ” You don’t have to pull down. On the contrary, it must be turned upwards. On the first day, you have to get back on the road. We have a little pain, but after that, it’s fine.”

Amar manages to pick more than 1,200 kilos of apples per day : ” You see that at 70, we manage to do this job comments Hughes. It’s not complicated. You have to be organized and work quietly but constantly at the right pace. Amar can make four or five boxes a day, while some young people sometimes stop after a day! “

The big question for the Verger de la Gaucherie remains the selling price: their production costs have increased by 20 to 30% this year Most of their production is sold directly to the cooperative, which pays them installments throughout the year. They therefore have no control over marketing. However, two hectares are reserved for direct sale to individuals. who can come and pick them up directly: the kilo will be sold for 90 cents. Opening August 26.