Farmers want unemployed city workers to fill harvest season jobs

It almost sounds too good to be true for out of work city dwellers: $300 a day with no experience necessary — and food and board included. See what jobs are available.

Harvest worker Heidi Morris puts in three hard months of labour to spend the rest of the year travelling and has hooked dozens of mates into jobs over the years.

As spring promises bumper crops through the state’s west amid Covid-induced lack of farm workers, she’s ready to help thousands more Aussies get steady paying jobs when harvest season starts in October.

It almost sounds too good to be true for couch-bound, out of work citysiders who are sick of looking at their screens: $300 a day with no experience necessary — and food and board included.

The only ask from the farmers making a desperate plea for workers over coming months is a willingness to work hard.

Heidi Morris and cattle dog Laurie relax after a hard day’s work on a farm at Moree.

“I’ve got farmers around my area in Moree looking for probably about a thousand jobs out here, just that I can think of,” said Ms Morris, 25, who links farmers and workers through her Seasonalwork_Oz social media sites.

“But around the state there are thousands of jobs going begging.

“As long as you’re willing to work, then come out. I’ve just had the most amazing response with my service. I’ve got about 200 people looking for work and it’s just growing by the day and I’ve already sorted probably thirty people jobs in the last week.”

Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said he wanted Aussies to take up on-farm employment to help with the bumper harvest from October.

Mr Marshall said the state’s agricultural industry was facing a labour shortage and Aussies would have plenty of work opportunities once stay-at-home orders were lifted.

“I’m putting out a call to arms for adventure seekers and job seekers alike to head to the bush for a bumper harvest,” Mr Marshall said.

“Our farmers are hurting from international and state border closures and it’s critical they have the workforce needed to produce our food and fibre.

“Agriculture stops for no-one. If we don’t put the necessary measures in place to get more boots on the ground in the coming months fruit will rot and crops will waste.

“Last year’s harvest was huge and all signs point to an even bigger spring this time around.”

Ms Morris drives a header or combine harvester and said there was extensive entry-level work available driving tractor chaser-bins as well as other roles.

Applicants would preferably have their own cars but this was not a gamechanger.

With travel restrictions in place, authorities stressed they were not calling on people to head out of the cities now for work, rather to start planning for and applying for roles from October.

Under the current restrictions, entry to regional NSW can only legally be made with a permit available through ServiceNSW. Agricultural workers are considered essential workers and would need to show proof of employment and a negative Covid test in order to apply for a permit.