Fruit picking road trips: ultimate Australian guide

The government is calling on all Aussies to give Australian farm work a red hot go, offering $2,000 - $6,000 incentives to those that put their hand up. We caught up with Harvest Trail, Australia's greatest source of seasonal agricultural work opportunities to get the lowdown on how to plan a road trip (or ‘fruit loops’ as we like to call them!) to support Aussie farmers in need.

Adventure is always in season

Due to a shortage of travellers, farmers all over Australia are in dire need of seasonal fruit pickers and labourers. As a result, there is an unprecedented prediction of crop wastage and therefore higher fruit prices. So not only is this an opportunity to explore somewhere different but also an opportunity to help farmers all over the country with the flow-on effect of minimizing the wastage of our delicious Australian-grown crops.

Gavin Krake, Manager of the Harvest Trail Information Service said: “The agricultural industry is in huge need of your help. From December to early April, over $45m worth of fruit and vegetables have been lost. Much of which is due to workforce shortages.”

“Recognising that relocation to regional areas can often be a barrier for those considering farm work, the government has recently updated its reimbursement support.”

“From university students on a break, city dwellers seeking escapism and grey nomads; following the harvest trail can be a great way to explore unique parts of Australia, meet new friends, whilst offering the potential to earn significant cash over a short period of time.”

AgMove: Government initiatives explained

The Australian Federal and State Governments have launched a relocation assistance program, named AgMove for anyone willing to help out.

The AgMove relocation assistance program offers up to $6,000 to Australians who are making the move to regional areas for agriculture jobs. The relocation assistance varies based upon the period of time, e.g. job seekers will be eligible for up to $2000 in relocation assistance when they complete 40 hours of agricultural work in a fortnight. If workers stay in the job and complete 120 hours over at least four weeks, they will be reimbursed up to $6000. This is to help cover things like travel, accommodation and workwear. That just so happens to include accommodation on wheels too.

So you can set out on your big road trip adventure, earn money while you do it, help farmers to minimize waste, and the government can help to cover some of those expenses. Harvest Trail can help you apply for relocation assistance during your job search, but for more information on eligibility, see the government resources available here or call AgMove on 1800 805 260.

Where to start?

The best place to start is with Harvest Trail’s ‘National Harvest Guide’. This is your ultimate resource in downloadable PDF format and is updated regularly. It includes all the information you will ever need before and during your trip.

Things like important contact information, how to apply for jobs, pay rates/conditions and fair work contacts/advice, regional travel tips and state-specific fruit harvest seasonal maps to best help you to plan your journey should you want to adventure across multiple harvests.

On the Harvest Trail website, you can also find a list of all current horticulture jobs across Australia and is updated daily - you can also give their friendly team a call on 1800 062 332. You may be surprised to see that there is a huge variety of job types that may interest you outside of simply ‘fruit picking’.

Where can I go?

Well, that all depends on the time of year. As a general rule, during the coldest months, the Southern states have far fewer opportunities available as the harvest season winds down, but let’s face it, you’re here to avoid winter now aren’t you?

Tasmania

Late Summer/Autumn

Northern Tasmania - Apples/Vegetables/Berries

Southern Tasmania - Apple/Vegetables/Berries/Hops

No demand for labour from June through August.

Victoria

All year

Gippsland - Vegetables

Late Summer/Autumn

Mornington Peninsula - Berries

Yarra Valley - Apples/Pears/Berries

Sunraysia - Grapes

Swan Hill - Grapes/Nuts

Nyah - Grapes/Nuts

Tooleybuc - Grapes/Nuts

Autumn

Goulburn Valley - Citrus

Swan Hill - Citrus

Nyah - Citrus

Tooleybuc - Citrus

Winter/Spring

Sunraysia - Citrus/Grapevine pruners

Western Australia

Summer

Carabooda - Tomatoes/Vegetables

Wannaroo - Tomatoes/Vegetables

Carnarvon - Melons

Late Summer/Autumn

Manjimup - Apples/Pears

Carnarvon - Tomatoes/Vegetables

Margaret River - Grapes (Picking & Pruning)

Winter

Kununurra - Melons

Carnarvon - Tomatoes/Vegetables

Margaret River - Grapes (Picking & Pruning)

South Australia

Autumn

Adelaide Hills - Apples/Pears

Winter

Riverland - Citrus

New South Wales

Autumn

Young - Berries/Grapes/Stonefruit

Orange - Apples

Batlow - Apples

Late Winter

Riverina - Citrus

North Coast - Nuts/Avocados/Berries

Queensland

All Year

Far North Queensland - Bananas

Boonah - Vegetables

Gatton - Vegetables

Laidley - Vegetables

Autumn

Atherton - Custard Apples/Avocados

Late Autumn/Early Winter

Ayr & Bowen - Melons/Tomatoes

Emerald - Citrus

Bundaberg - Macadamias

Gin Gin - Citrus

Gayndah - Citrus

Sunshine Coast - Pineapples/Berries

Mundubbera - Citrus

Late Winter/Spring

Bundaberg - Tomatoes and other vegetables

Spring/Summer

Stanthorpe - Apples/Pears/Berries/Tomatoes/Vegetables

In Stanthorpe, things are busy from November until the end of April with apples/pears, berries, tomatoes and other veggies all being harvested.

Northern Territory

There’s no significant labour demand in the NT for most of the year until mangoes start in September.

What's next?

As you can see, the diversity of locations and timings year-round leaves no shortage of unique adventures to be had in places you probably never thought to travel, whilst helping Australian farmers and giving your followers a well-needed break from seeing the same photos from Byron Bay lighthouse. And don't we have just the van for you to be able to do it all in comfort and style? Everybody wins.

All that’s left for you to do is to pick your locations, time them with each harvest, cross-reference with the bucket list and if you play your cards right, you could soon be off on your farm-funded, full-lap of Australia...the ultimate Fruit Loop.

Don’t forget to connect with Harvest Trail on Facebook and Instagram (@harvesttrailnformationservice) to keep up to date with the latest information!