As much as we’re expecting a heavy production year at La Minita this harvest, we are expecting much the same at Hacienda Rio Negro. The flowering there was also very nice and even, and heavier than usual. The weather has been cooperative and the fruit has been maturing well. We are not expecting a record year in 19/20, but a close second to our top year of 2011.
Again, collecting more fruit than usual will place demands on labor and we are taking care to make sure we have enough when the time comes for harvesting. Each year we work with picker groups who sign contracts to stay at our farms for the harvest; They commit to a time period and a certain number of pickers, and we commit to housing and pay levels for them during that time.
We made the necessary investment this year in housing improvements at Rio Negro that will allow us to accommodate up to 800 people on the farm.
We began our buying season at BRN last week, and sent our first pickers into the fields at Rio Negro just this week. These were indeed just the lowest and earliest areas, but 19/20 harvest has officially begun.