Costs of hand and machine harvesting snap beans in Tennessee

The general objective of this study was to aid the farmer in choosing the harvesting method that would be most economical for his situation. The more specific objectives of this study were:

1. To determine the costs per bushel of harvesting snap beans by hand and by machine.

2. To determine the amount of labor saved by mechanical harvesting.

3. To determine the acreages and yields necessary to make mechanical harvesting profitable.

4. To determine the costs of alternative methods of loading snap beans in the field.