“It’s been a very successful response so far, but we can’t afford to be complacent – harvest is just around the corner and we still have a significant shortfall of seasonal workers.” O’Donnell said during a typical year, about two-thirds of the harvest workforce would have come from either RSE workers or people on working holiday visas. He said leading into the 2021 harvest, conservative estimates predicted there would be a shortfall of at least 1600 workers – although this would have been affected to a degree by the Boxing Day hailstorm. MARTIN DE RUYTER/STUFF Motueka Fruit Growers Association President Richard Clarkson with misshapen and bruised apples as the damage continues to emerge from the Boxing Day hail storm.