Blueberry Harvest at Otautau is throwing open its doors to budding job seekers keen to find out more about what is in store during fruit picking season.

General manager Simon Bardon said between 100 and 150 pickers are needed for the Southland blueberry harvest in January and February.

The open day on December 5 would allow job seekers to learn whether fruit picking is a good fit for their skills and abilities.

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“We are inviting anyone who is contacting us to turn up on the day between 11am and 1pm. We will be giving people an overview of what we do and what we are offering. They will be able to leave their details and we will get in touch when we know when the season is starting,” Mr Bardon said.

The Southland blueberry season usually starts mid to late January and runs for about six weeks, though it is possible the harvest could be early or late.

“The reality is we don’t know exactly when . . . Sometimes it does not start until the end of January and sometimes we are screaming out [for pickers] on New Year’s Day,” Mr Bardon said.

The open day would psychologically prepare people for the harvest and give potential pickers a chance to see the picking and packing operations.

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Blueberry Country is about 40 minutes drive from central Invercargill in the quiet part of the Southland countryside, Mr Bardon said.

He described the environment as “another world’’ of peace and quiet, although the conditions could sometimes get quite hot.

He is keen for lots of people, including locals, to sign up, as jobs could still come up after the harvest began.

A permanent crew of 22 people would be chosen for the grading room, while the rest of the workers would be working in the orchard.

Pickers were usually paid per kilogram, with the rate set according to the market and how much it was willing to pay for the fruit.

When fruit was challenging to pick, the rate could increase. If supermarkets were selling blueberries on special for $1 a punnet, that could also affect the rate, he said.

The average picker should be able to equal the adult minimum wage, but if pickers were struggling to achieve the target it was okay for them to decide the job was not for them, he said.

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“The carrot that we can also dangle in front of an outstanding picker is that they will be rewarded for their effort,” he said.

In the past, an outstanding picker had taken home about $2000 a week in net pay.

“We had one man who was a machine. He was scary. Nobody could match him. But the truth is, it can be done,” Mr Bardon said.

Pickers had different strengths and Blueberry Country was not about giving people a pass or a fail. Pickers could do what worked for them, he said.

All the blueberries produced in Southland stayed in New Zealand and most were sold fresh and distributed throughout the South Island, he said.

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Blueberry Country has four other orchards around New Zealand, including in Hamilton and Northland, and the family-owned company had the largest hectarage of blueberries in the country, Mr Bardon said.

Blueberry Country established its Southland orchard about 15 years ago and had met Southland’s challenges with an optimistic outlook, he said.

Mr Bardon has worked for the company for eight years.

Last year’s season was affected by the weather but this year the company was hoping for a better season, he said.

The Blueberry Country open day has been organised with the support of Great South’s Southland Youth Futures Team.

Open day details: Saturday, December 5, 11am to 1pm, 513 Otautau-Drummond Road, Southland.