Friends had an apricot orchard reasonably close to heavily populated area. They needed around 150 employees in season, but found many dole recipients only lasted the first day and then simply never showed again.  It was a huge problem finding reliable workers who would turn up on time, week after week and the reliable regulars where sought after and valued by local farmers.. The wages where half reasonable and the work was repetative but not too hard. My wife and I worked there for a few weeks and it wasnt too bad. The constant round a bout of pickers was a real eye opener.

Farmers have the same problem with sheep shearing. Shed handing ( handling the fleeces ) is hard work, starting at 7.30 am. and not knocking off till 5.30pm. Shed hands earn over $200 per day, but still farmers find it impossible to fill positions. Most unemployed people simply cant run fast enough to do the job. ( it is very full on ) . Some of the best workers are Kiwi woman who come over here to work the sheds. I have employed them myself and always been very impressed with their tenacious work ethic.

My 15 year old son has just started working in shearing sheds. He,s not afraid of hard work and has already started to get offers of work from shearing contractors etc  Its a pity Costa wouldnt give the locals a fair go. Although there would be many people who would not be suitable, there would be a large number of locals who would love the chance to become regular pickers year in year out. These regular hard workers do build a reputation in country towns and are highly sought after by different businesses at different times of the year. This is just how it normally works in farming / country communities.