6 BULLETIN 636, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



CONDITIONS. 



LABOR CONDITIONS. 



Labor conditions in the valley, generally speaking, are very good. 

 Month help is often employed with an addition of day help during 

 harvesting. The average labor rate is somewhat less than in the 

 specialized northwest fruit districts, where labor is largely dependent 

 on fruit, with little general farming to fill in the gaps between the 

 busy seasons. Here labor can find employment for the entire year 

 on account of the great diversity and kinds of farming followed. 

 Grain, hay, stock, and fruit under both intensive and extensive types 

 of farming are found. 



At the time of this survey the labor rate on the farms studied was 

 SO. 20 per hour for man labor and SO. 15 per hour for horse labor. 

 The horse-labor rate is figured on the basis of the value of team labor 

 where one grower works for another and is perhaps higher than 

 would be the actual cost of keeping a team. However, in the case 

 of the fruit ranchers so many of the farms are specialized that profit- 

 able employment for these teams throughout the season can not be 

 depended on, as on the large diversified farms. Thus SO. 15 per hour, 

 although apparently a rate comparatively higher than the man-hour 

 rate, is really a fair rate, all things being considered. It is necessary 

 to keep horses on these ranches. Man labor is at all times present in 

 the community, and its rate is determined by the community, while 

 the rate of the horse labor is determined by the size and type of farm 

 on which the orchards are located. 



SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 



The social conditions are all that could be desired. There are 

 excellent schools and churches within easy access of most parts of the 

 valley, and farmers' social organizations nourish. The type of farm 

 is generally extensive enough so that the children remain in the 

 community and help build it up. The farmers as a class come very 

 largely from the same walk of life and thus are able to understand 

 and cooperate with each other more or less on a common basis. 



Such modern rural improvements as mail service, telephones, etc., 

 are found throughout the region. 



TRANSPORTATION. 



This district is somewhat at a disadvantage in being a long way 

 from the centers of distribution. . This disadvantage is most marked 

 in the case of the fruit industry, for fruit, especially soft fruit, is a 

 highly perishable product. 



The Payette Valley Railway traverses the Payette Valley and 

 connects with the Oregon Short Line Railway. The town of Payette 

 is located on the main hue of the Oregon Short Line. The shipping 

 facilities from here are good, but some idea of the distance from the 



