2023-09-05 18:42:00
It only took a quarter of an hour of intense hail to damage a year’s apple and pear harvest. For the GaSi farm operators who have been renting the land and working organically since 2013, it’s a disaster. “It lasted a quarter of an hour, no more, says Simon Van Parys. All of Belgium was on yellow alert that day, but a stormy band from Nivelles passed over Ottignies and headed towards Incourt… It was hail, hailstones 2 cm in diameter fell, and they marked the fruit, all two weeks before the harvest.”
Result ? The 6 hectares of table apples and pears were affected. Either fruits usually sold over a period of six months, in their store on the farm, on the markets, but also via the Agricovert cooperative. “With what we have left of intact fruit here, we won’t last two months.”
On the market gardening side, the two farmers also suffered losses, but less significant: “Because, for fruit trees, it is 75 to 85% of the harvest for the entire year that is lost or downgraded. We had already experienced late frost, in other years. It limited harvests, but in In this case, it was the Disaster Fund that intervened. Here, we are going to defend our case, but it is more complicated because it was very localized. And if we are told that we should have equipped ourselves with anti- hail, it’s just impossible for us. We are tenants and this kind of protection costs from 60,000 to 100,000 € per hectare!”
So Simon and Gabriel rolled up their sleeves and started harvesting earlier than expected. “We will try to limit losses by selling as table fruit those which have a small impact which has healed on the tree. Direct sale, at the counter, is feasible. For other fruits that are too damaged, we will send to the press to make juice. But it will have to be pressed quickly because the weather is nice this week, it favors rotting. Before the end of the week, they will have to be pressed.”
A costly harvest
The harvest will therefore take much longer than usual this year. A bucket for downgraded fruit, another for salvageable ones. The cost of harvesting will therefore be higher, and pressing the fruit is an additional cost. This is the reason why the two brothers called on the Brigades d’actions paysannes (see below) to benefit from a few extra hands. Giving up reaping the rewards was not an option: “It would cost less, but it’s a false good idea because the acidity of the fruit would go into the soil and then work would have to be done to regulate the PH of the soil, hence a new cost… It would therefore be absurd. “
Work therefore awaits them, especially since they are also preparing for their open day. It will take place on September 16, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and they hope to receive many visitors. “Life goes on. You have to put it into perspective. It’s better that it’s the fruits than us”, smiles Simon Van Parys.
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