Only transportation of employees employed or to be employed in the
``harvesting'' of fruits or vegetables is exempt under clause (B) of
section 13(b)(16). As indicated in Sec. 780.920, such harvest workers do
not include employees employed or to be employed in planting or
cultivating the crop. Nor do they include employees employed or to be
employed in operations subsequent to harvesting, even where such
operations constitute ``agriculture'' within the definition in section
3(f) of the Act. ``Harvesting'' refers to the removal of fruits or
vegetables from their growing position in the fields, and as explained
in Sec. 780.118 of this part, includes the operations customarily
performed in connection with this severance of the crops from the soil
(see Vives v. Serralles, 145 F. 2d 552), but does not extend to
operations subsequent to and unconnected with the actual severance
process or to operations performed off the farm. It may include moving
the fruits or vegetables to concentration points on the farm, but would
not include packingshed or other operations performed in preparation for
market rather than as part of harvesting, such as ripening, cleaning,
grading, sorting, drying, and storing. If the workers are employed or to
be employed in ``harvesting'', it does not matter for purposes of the
exemption whether a farmer or someone else employs them or does the
harvesting. It is the character of their employment as ``harvesting''
and not the identity of their employer or the owner of the crop which
determines whether their transportation to and from the farm will
provide a basis for exemption of the transportation of employees.
