AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Oregon State College Uta. A. Schoenfeld, Director Corvallis. Circular of Information No.

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1 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Oregon State College Uta. A. Schoenfeld, Director Corvallis Circular of Information No. 341 May 1944 YOUTH LABOR EFFICIENCY IN HARVESTING SWEET CHERRIES WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON* The acreage of cherries in Oregon in 1943 was approximately 15,200, mostly of sweet varieties. Wasco County has the largest acreage. Several other eastern Oregon and southern Oregon counties produce cherries. However, over one-half of the commercial acreage of cherries in Oregon is in the Willamette Valley. For detailed acreage by counties and production statistics in Oregon see Oregon State College Extension Bulletin 631. Sweet cherries in Oregon require a large amount of seasonal labor for harvest during June and July. The shortage of men pwing to the war has required the assistance of older people and youth for harvesting many crops in Oregon, including cherries. The recruitment and placement of thousands of such workers has presented a major problem, involving estimates of the number needed for which information on relative efficiency has been inadequate. The data that follow should assist materially in meeting harvest labor problems on sweet cherries in It would be desirable to collect more complete data during the harvest season to supplement the information contained in this preliminary release. During the summer of 1943, records were obtained from 637 young persons harvesting sweet cherries, working in platoons in Marion County. These records provided data on quantities picked per day by these young people, by age and sex. These records together with information from other records of adult workers referred to in footnote one of Table 3 were analyzed and the results are presented in Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4, and in Figure 1. Table 1 presents a general summary of the work done by the platoons included in the study. The data show that one or more platoons worked 30 days between June 23 and July 23 inclusive. The 637 youth did 3,784 days of work and picked 280,220 pounds of cherries during the period an average of 74.1 pounds per picker per day. A preliminary release prepared by D. Curtis Mumford, Head, and John H. Blosser, Research Assistant, Department of Farm Management, Division of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Experiment Station; and L. R. Breithaupt, Project Leader, Agricultural Economics Section, Extension Service. Special acknowledgment is due the Marion County Snergency Farm Labor Service, Extension Service and United States Employment Service, cooperating.

2 The relative efficiency for each age group in percentage of a group aged 18 to 55 years is shown in Table 2. The amount of work done per day by the workers between the ages of 18 and 55 has been taken as 100 per cent since these ages are normally considered as adult labor. The relative efficiency of each group is, therefore, shown as a percentage of the work done by the adults. For example, the data indicate that the boys under 14 on the average picked 48 per cent as much as was picked by the adults from 18 to 55 years of age who averaged 143 pounds. (See footnote 1, Table 3.) In Table 3 and Figure 1 the results are shewn to indicate the relative amounts of work done by 314 pickers in 12 age groups. Only records for youth who worked 5 or more days were included. It will be seen that youth under 13 years averaged 60 pounds per day while pickers 31 to AO years of age averaged 152 pounds per day. The older youth, however, were able to pick larger amounts, particularly boys. As shown by Table 2, men and boys picked considerably more cherries per day than women and girls of like ages. Picking sweet cherries requires handling ladders and climbing into tall trees. The data indicated that pickers with one or more years of experience will generally harvest 10 per cent more cherries per day than pickers of the same age without experience. As previously stated, the 637 youth did 3,784 days of work during the 30-day cherry picking season. In Table 4 is shown the regularity of individual pickers. For example, 134. pickers worked only one day during the season and only one picker worked as much as 21 days. The average days worked for all of the 637 youth was approximately six days. The maximum number working any one day during the season was 262. As has been indicated, these youth were organized into platoons. The workers had been given some preliminary training and were under the supervision of adult leaders. Transportation was furnished by the employers.

3 Table 1. Summary of work done by 637 youth working in 10 platoons picking sweet cherries, Salem, Marion County, Oregon, 1943: pickers, and total and average quantity picked, daily. Total Average ' pickers pounds pounds. picked Date by days picked per picker June , , , , a 4, , , , July , , , , , , , , , , , , , ' , , , , , , , , All season 3,784 y 280, / 1/ Total picker days worked. 2/ Weighted average pounds picked per day.

4 Table 2. Relative Efficiency of 314 Sweet Cherry Pickers by Age and Sex Willamette Valley, Oregon, (143 pounds per day = 100 per cent) I. nt,.. i i.,,-_. i-,i ii Sex Index (per cent) Under H years Boys 48 Girls years Boys 68 Girls years 1/... Men 113 Women 96 1/ See footnote 1, Table 3. Table 3. Average Pounds o_f Svreet Cherries Picked per Picker per Day b 4C. & r<j? s» 33-4 Pickers. Willamette Valley, Oregon, 1943 Average amount Age group picked per day. Actual 17 Adjusted 2/ ~" (pounds) (pounds) Under 13 years years years years years years years years years years years Over 60 years 100 ; 100 All ages / The figures for the age groups and older were calculated by a somewhat arbitrary method using actual records for 27 adults who picked sweet cherries on oue farm in Bent or;. County in 1943, and the results of a survey of the relative efficiency of sour cherry pickers of various ages reported in Station Circular of Information No / The actual figures were adjusted to fit a smoothed curve. These data are charted in Figure 1.

5 Table 4. Regularity of Individual Sweet Cherry Pickersi 637 children in 10 platoons. 30-day picking season Salem, Marion County, Oregon, 1943 days picked pickers days picked pickers

6 Figure 1. Estimated average number of pounds of sweet cherries picked per day according to age of picker. (314 pickers, VJillamette Valley, Oregon, 1943) % 180 u g 160 8, ^ Sweet cherries Prepared by Department of Farm Management Oregon State College May Under Age of pickers a 51 Over to to to to to