Why do people work in the harvest?
Spud Harvest has beautiful sunsets in Idaho.
As the potato harvest season begins in Idaho, Senior William Morrison spends long days working in the field. He likes his responsibilities and pay , but feels some people may not know much about the harvest.
“It’s not a regular timed job. Sometimes I’m working 12 to 14 hours in one day,” Morrison said.
Working lets the students see the process from farm to consumer, and they appreciate the pay that comes with it.
“We are helping farmers pull potatoes out of the ground and get them to the market,” Morrison said.
Most people don’t know that the weather has to be perfect to continue the harvest.
“You can’t pull the potatoes out of the ground until it’s warm enough. If there’s frost, we have to wait till the frost melts. And they can’t be too hot, either. Because the potatoes need to be a certain temperature,” Morrison said.
His responsibility is to drive trucks and transfer potatoes to the sorter before stored in the cellar. This year’s acreage is smaller than previous years, so the pay may be a little less, but it still could be around $2,000.
“I could get up to two or three grand this year; it depends on how much my uncle owes me,” Morrison said.
