National Technical Reports Library

The National Technical Information Service acquires, indexes, abstracts, and archives the largest collection of U.S. government-sponsored technical reports in existence. The NTRL offers online, free and open access to these authenticated government technical reports. Technical reports and documents in its repository may be available online for free either from the issuing federal agency, the U.S. Government Publishing Office’s Federal Digital System website, or through search engines.

Details

Mechanical Harvesting of Wine Grapes.

PB284087

Publication Date	1977
Personal Author	Johnson, S. S.
Page Count	34
Abstract	Mechanization of the California wine grape harvest has slowed, with no rapid increase expected for the immediate future. However, a lot depends on solving current problems of wine quality using mechanically harvested grapes and machine damage to vines as well as generally low grape prices and the labor situation. The study points out that mechanical harvesting is only economical on larger acreages. For example, at an 8-ton-per-acre yield in 1972, a farm would have to be 220 acres in size in order for mechanical harvesting costs to break even with those of hand harvesting. On the other hand, if farmworker wages went up by a fourth or more over other costs, machine harvesting could increase the competitive edge. In general, owners of mechanical harvesters viewed their machines favorably, most often noting that they liked the increased control over their operations and the relative freedom from labor problems. Operational problems cited were vine and stake damage and juicing of the grapes.
Keywords	Harvesters Grapes Wines Agricultural economics Agricultural machinery Quality Prices Damage Yield Manpower Farms Area Mechanical efficiency Harvesting Cost effectiveness Operations Expenses Vines Stakes
Source Agency	Economic Research Center Special Free Input AGREE
NTIS Subject Category	98B - Agricultural Economics 98C - Agricultural Equipment, Facilities, & Operations
Corporate Authors	Economic Research Service, Washington, D.C. Commodity Economics Div.
Document Type	Technical Report
Title Note	Final rept. for 1975.
NTIS Issue Number	197823

Mechanical Harvesting of Wine Grapes.

Mechanical Harvesting of Wine Grapes.
PB284087

Publication Date	1977
Personal Author	Johnson, S. S.
Page Count	34
Abstract	Mechanization of the California wine grape harvest has slowed, with no rapid increase expected for the immediate future. However, a lot depends on solving current problems of wine quality using mechanically harvested grapes and machine damage to vines as well as generally low grape prices and the labor situation. The study points out that mechanical harvesting is only economical on larger acreages. For example, at an 8-ton-per-acre yield in 1972, a farm would have to be 220 acres in size in order for mechanical harvesting costs to break even with those of hand harvesting. On the other hand, if farmworker wages went up by a fourth or more over other costs, machine harvesting could increase the competitive edge. In general, owners of mechanical harvesters viewed their machines favorably, most often noting that they liked the increased control over their operations and the relative freedom from labor problems. Operational problems cited were vine and stake damage and juicing of the grapes.
Keywords	Harvesters Grapes Wines Agricultural economics Agricultural machinery Quality Prices Damage Yield Manpower Farms Area Mechanical efficiency Harvesting Cost effectiveness Operations Expenses Vines Stakes
Source Agency	Economic Research Center Special Free Input AGREE
NTIS Subject Category	98B - Agricultural Economics 98C - Agricultural Equipment, Facilities, & Operations
Corporate Authors	Economic Research Service, Washington, D.C. Commodity Economics Div.
Document Type	Technical Report
Title Note	Final rept. for 1975.
NTIS Issue Number	197823