Pickers sought for Belvoir Farm's annual harvest with a chance to earn thousands of pounds
Members of the community are being asked to start picking elderflowers next week for a Vale of Belvoir soft drinks company’s annual harvest with one picker last year being paid £5,000.
Belvoir Farm is launching its popular drive a little earlier than usual on Wednesday May 20 due to weather patterns that have accelerated flower growth.
Despite the record-breaking wet winter that impacted the root systems of some crops, recent warm weather has led to the first buds already appearing brought forward the crucial four-week picking window which usually kicks off at the beginning of June.
The Bottesford-based company relies on a network of local pickers to gather the blossoms they need at their seasonal peak so they can continue to produce their famous elderflower drinks.
As well as the Melton area and the Vale of Belvoir, pickers come from across Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire.
They are paid by weight – this year it is £3.75 per kilo - meaning a productive afternoon can translate into a worthwhile pay-out – the most they paid a single picker last year was £5,000.
Belvoir Farm owner, Pev Manners, said: “We had a wet start to the year, but the past two months have been dry and sunny, which has brough the flowers forward, so we hope our wonderful Leicestershire community will come out in force once again and start picking a little earlier than usual.
“It’s this dedication from the hundreds of people who come on board each year to help us pick and earn some extra cash that’s kept our cordial going for over 40 years and it’s still made to my mum’s recipe that she created at the kitchen table all those years ago.”
Taking part doesn’t require specialist skills or equipment – a sturdy bag, comfortable footwear and practical clothing are enough to get you going.
Add gloves and long sleeves for protection, and you’re ready to head out along footpaths, hedgerows and green spaces where elder trees flourish.
You can also pick from Belvoir Farm’s own 60-acre organic elderflower plantation and, whilst you have to be over 16 to pick and be paid, that doesn’t mean children can’t join in the fun of a fabulous family walk.
Participants are always asked to abide by the Countryside Code. Key principles include ensuring you have permission if you are picking on private land, to respect the land and avoid damage to the trees or surrounding habitat so that elder trees continue to thrive for future seasons.
All flowers must be fresh, so the company is asking for pickers to deliver on the day they pick, as they’ll go brown very quickly and become unsuitable to use, and to drop off to their factory at Barkestone Lane, Bottesford (NG13 0DH), between Monday and Saturday, from 2pm to 6pm) or their weighing-in station at Sacrewell Farm & Countryside Centre, just off the A1 near Peterborough.
Every flower picked is infused within 24 hours and turned into the company’s rich and fragrant cordial that’s then bottled and shipped across the UK and around the world.