Specialty coffee harvest is directly affected by labor shortages. That happens because not only does the workforce need to be qualified, but it is also highly demanded during harvest. As a result, it´s possible to notice a loss of productivity, specialty coffee quality, and producer profitability.
In this blog post, we´ll discuss strategies to help you deal with that problem. Besides, the tips will help you succeed in specialty coffee production, as well as other suggestions we shared before.
Learn 8 Tips To Help You Overcome Labor Shortages Challenges In Your Specialty Coffee Harvest
First Tip: Use Good Technique
Wait for most of the coffee to be ripe and instead of picking only them, pick the green ones, separating them. After that, only the ripe ones will remain on the tree, so you just need to remove everything at once. In this technique, you´ll be able to harvest only the ripe coffees, and therefore, you´ll have better results.
Second Tip: Plan Ahead and Communicate Effectively
Planning ahead for the coffee harvest and communicating effectively with your team is essential. Thus, you ensure that your harvest season is successful. Therefore, it´s important to have a clear plan that includes how and when to pick the coffee. In addition, define what your workers should do with the ripe grains and the green ones.
Remember to provide your team clear instructions about how to pick coffee correctly and efficiently. This can help ensure that they´re working effectively, making the most of their time in the fields.
Third Tip: Implement Training Programs
Implementing training programs can help teach workers how to pick coffee correctly, reducing labor requirements. Thus, you ensure that each worker is picking the right amount of coffee, without leaving grains behind. Besides, provide information about what the average amount harvested per worker is and teach the technique you´d like them to use.
Consider providing ongoing training and education programs to teach your staff skills and efficiency.
Fourth Tip: Use technology and Machinery on Your Specialty Coffee Harvest
Using technology and machinery can significantly reduce the amount of manual labor required during the harvest period.
For example, using a mechanical harvester or coffee pulper can speed up the picking process and reduce labor requirements. Although it´s not always the best choice when the objective is to optimize quality. Therefore, it´s important to analyze in which areas it is worth dedicating more time to have a more manual and meticulous coffee processing. So that there is focused labor and quality in the areas that have more potential. While in others, the coffee is harvested and processed more efficiently, ensuring that your resources are better used.
Generally, the use of technology can lead to a reduction in labor and an increase in profit. Although, remember to carefully calculate and plan this process.
Fifth Tip: Plan the Coffee Harvest with Other Producers
Collaborating with other coffee producers can help you deal with labor shortages. Therefore, planning with other producers who are at different altitudes can be advantageous, as they usually finish the harvest at a different moment. So, the producers can direct workers to different properties.
This can help ensure that you have enough skilled workers to pick up your coffee at the right time.
Sixth Tip: Help Commission the Picker in a Better Way
Commission-based payment structures can help motivate pickers to pick more and with more quality. Besides, it´s important to remember that FARMly stands for a transparent and fair payment structure.
Consider offering the worker a payment based on production and not daily, added to a bonus based on the ripe cherry percentage picked. So, you create an incentive that aligns both producer and worker goals.
Seventh Tip: Connect with Picerks from Other Origins
If you’re struggling to find enough labor locally, consider reaching out to pickers from other coffee-producing places. Our suggestion is to look for regions that are at a different altitude than yours, as they have a different harvest season.
This can be a win-win situation: you get the labor you need, and the pickers get a chance to work in a new environment and earn money.
To find these pickers, you can try reaching out to coffee associations or cooperatives in other places. It’s important to make sure that you comply with all legal requirements and that they treat the workers fairly.
Eighth Tip: Measure The Production
Measuring the amount of coffee picked by each worker or team can be an effective way to incentivize your pickers and increase their productivity. By keeping track of the amount picked, you can create a system of rewards that encourages your workers to pick more and better.
To do this, you can use simple tools such as scales or buckets to measure the weight of the coffee picked by each worker. You can then use this data to calculate their daily or weekly output and compare it against benchmarks or targets that you’ve set.
When designing your incentive program, it’s important to strike a balance between rewarding quantity and quality. While you want to encourage your workers to pick as much coffee as possible, you also want to make sure that they’re picking ripe cherries and avoiding any damage to the trees or the fruit.
Besides, by measuring what was picked, you can gain valuable insights into your workforce and use data-driven strategies to optimize your operations.
To summarize, a labor shortage during the harvest period can be a major challenge for specialty coffee producers. However, by taking proactive steps to address the issue and implementing effective strategies, you can still achieve a successful harvest and produce high-quality coffee. Whether it’s by partnering with other producers, incentivizing your pickers, or leveraging technology, there are many ways to make your harvest period more efficient and cost-effective.
Remember that, with the right approach, you can turn a labor shortage into an opportunity for growth and innovation.
