THE NUMBERS…
1000: Number of acres of Concord grapes in the St. James area 30 years ago.
100: Number of acres of Concord grapes in the St. James area today.
150: Number of man-hours a year to maintain and harvest one acre of grapes.
50: Number of additional man-hours a year if the grapes are hand-harvested.
4: Number of man-hours a year to maintain and harvest one acre of corn.
4: Number of years to establish new grape plants before they produce any grapes.
15: Number of minutes to pick one ton of grapes by two men using a machine harvester.
54: Number of minutes for two men to hand pick the same one-ton of grapes
PHOTO BY Nancy Crase / MPW.60