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Houston County Peaches Ready For Local Sale
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Houston Peaches Ready To Be Picked
Weather Is Big Factor
Peaches Are Big
Money Crop In
Houston County
C. I>. Spivey
Extension Horticulturist
University of (Georgia
Greetings. Houston
Countians. Have you stopped
to think what an enviable
position you are in to be
located in the heart of the
Georgia peach producing
area? Peaches are just one
of the major crops produced
in your county and the
surrounding area. This is a
crop that brings in a great
deal of out-of-state money to
enhance the economy of your
area.
Georgia is second only to
California for number of
peach trees of all ages and
for the last three seasons,
Georgia growers have
shipped an average of
132.342.000 pounds or
3.151.000 bushels. Such fruit
is shipped under federal
inspection and must pass
rigid grade and size
specifications that the
growers set for themselves.
This is by no means the total
production for we also ship to
adjacent states and sell
within the state.
What do you do when you
go to buy peaches for fresh
use or for processing ?
me tell you - Go to one of the
packing houses and buy No. 2
grade. They are the best for
such purposes. They are
large, highly colored, tree
ripened and very pleasing to
your taste buds.
Just how important
economically is peach
production 0 Probably much
more so than most people
realize. It all started back
between 1870 and 1875 when
Mr. S. H. Humph of Mar
shallville, Georgia in
troduced the Elberta
variety. Since that time we
have family operations that
are now in the hands of the
fourth and fifth generation.
By the time that peaches
reach the consumer in the
distant markets and
everyone along the way
reaping some benefit for
services rendered, the value
of the peach crop could
easily reach $75 million
dollars. Now let me hasten to
say that the growers get a
very small part of the
money. Some of the things
the peach grower has to buy
other than land are: trees,
fertilizer, labor, pesticides,
containers, machinery,
refrigeration, electric
power, oil and gasoline. They
must pay minimum wage,
social security and in
surance. They must also
meet all state and federal
sanitary and safety stan
dards. These growers pay
taxes, transportation
charges, broker fees, and
their share for promotion,
advertising, research and
quality control.
Anyone who has never
been associated with the
peach industry has no idea
what goes into a crop of
peaches. There is fertilizer,
pesticides (16 applications
applied each growing
season), labor, pruning,
thinning, replanting, har
vesting, and sleepless nights.
Sleepless nights? Yes! First
from the possibility of a
freeze during bloom, and
next getting the fruit picked,
packed, and shipped so that
it will reach market in top
quality.
digress a little and go
back to the value of the crop.
Many people think the
farmer is getting rich - not so
- he is struggling for survival
while at the same time he is
still trying to put top quality
food on your table. To do
this, he must produce food
that is just as free of disease
and insects as possible yet
meet the Pure Food stan
dards and stay within the
limits of the law governing
pollution.
When you get this all rolled
up into one ball of wax, the
peach grower has $3.50 in
vested in each 3 4 bushel of
peaches before they leave
his pack house. On top of this
is added the cost of
hydrocooling, sales com
mission and transportation
to get them to market.
So- if you are a “weight
watcher" eat peaches and
the price you pay for locally
grown fruits is a bargain.
You have the best peaches in
the world right at your own
back door.
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Typical Peach Orchard In Houston County
OSHA: AN IMPORTANT NEW LAW FOR AGRICULTURE
CHICAGO Williams-
Steigcr Occupational Safety
and Health Act of 1970 may
seem like a distant problem to
many farmers and ranchers,
but it could be only as far away
as the first fatal accident.
Since OSHA went into
effect in 1971, all agricultural
employers who employ one or
more persons have been cov
ered by the law which is in
tended to insure a safe work
place for every worker.
Unlike many industries cov
ered by OSHA, there are only
a few standards that specifically
apply to agriculture, however.
Congratulations!
Mr. Houston County Farmer.
Thank you for giving us the privilege of serving
you and your supply needs. You have played a
large role in the growth of Houston County.
TOLLESON SUPPLY COMPANY
F& BUILDING MATERIALS I
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PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, 31069, THURSDAY, JULY 6,1972
there are a number of jobs that
may require some form <*f pro
tective equipment such as ear
protection from excessive noise
or goggles and rubber gloves
for transferring anhydrous am
monia.
The federal standards that
presently apply to farmers and
ranchers—there could be more
in the future—include the re
quirement that all vehicles de
signed to travel at less than
25 mph and operated by em
ployees show an SMV emblem.
Other standards related to agri
culture cover sanitation in
temporary labor camps, the
handling and storage of anhy
drous ammonia, and pulpwood
logging.
Farms and ranches may also
be under state laws, hut com
pliance with these docs not
necessarily mean that an em
ployer is also in compliance
with OSHA.
Besides safety standards,
there are also federal regula
tions requiring employers who
hire labor to post a special De
partment of Labor notice ex
plaining employer-employee
rights and obligations under
OSHA, and rules requiring
that records available for
federal inspection be main
tained on work related acci
dents except those needing only
minor first aid.
A farm employer must also
report to the nearest OSHA
office any on-the-job fatality or
accident that hospitalizes five
or more workers.
The Occupational Safety
and Health Act provides for
inspections of work places cov
ered by the law and fines for
violations of up to SIO,OOO
and six months in jail.
Though the agricultural em
ployer’s responsibilities under
the law may not be as broad as
some other industries, he still
must provide a safe place to
work and train his employees