§780.205. Nursery activities generally. — Inbound Citations

Trees grown in forests and the lumber derived therefrom are not agricultural or horticultural commodities, for the purpose of the FLSA. (See § 780.205 regarding production of Christmas trees.) It follows that employment in the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of such trees or timber products is not sufficient to bring an employee within sec. 3(f) unless the operation is performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with his or its farming operations. On the latter point, see §§ 780.200 through 780.209 discussing the question of when forestry or lumbering operations are incident to or in conjunction with farming operations so as to constitute agriculture. For a discussion of the exemption in sec. 13(b)(28) of the Act for certain forestry and logging operations in which not more than eight employees are employed, see part 788 of this chapter.

The term “forestry or lumbering operations” refers to the cultivation and management of forests, the felling and trimming of timber, the cutting, hauling, and transportation of timber, logs, pulpwood, cordwood, lumber, and like products, the sawing of logs into lumber or the conversion of logs into ties, posts, and similar products, and similar operations. It also includes the piling, stacking, and storing of all such products. The gathering of wild plants and of wild or planted Christmas trees are included. (See the related discussion in §§ 780.205 through 780.209 and in part 788 of this chapter which considers the section 13(a)(13) exemption for forestry or logging operations in which not more than eight employees are employed.) “Wood working” as such is not included in “forestry” or “lumbering” operations. The manufacture of charcoal under modern methods is neither a “forestry” nor “lumbering” operation and cannot be regarded as “agriculture.”

The term forestry or lumbering operations refers to the cultivation and management of forests, the felling and trimming of timber, the cutting, hauling, and transportation of timber, logs, pulpwood, cordwood, lumber, and like products, the sawing of logs into lumber or the conversion of logs into ties, posts, and similar products, and similar operations. It also includes the piling, stacking, and storing of all such products. The gathering of wild plants and of wild Christmas trees is included. (See the related discussion in §§ 780.205 through 780.209 and in part 788 of this chapter which considers the sec. 13(b)(28) exemption for forestry or logging operations in which not more than eight employees are employed.) Wood working as such is not included in forestry or lumbering operations. The manufacture of charcoal under modern methods is neither a forestry nor lumbering operation and cannot be regarded as agriculture.

As used in the exemption, other forestry products means plants of the forest and the natural properties or substances of such plants and trees. Included among these are decorative greens such as holly, ferns, roots, stems, leaves, Spanish moss, wild fruit, and brush. Christmas trees are only included where they are gathered in the wild from forests or from uncultivated land and not produced through the application of extensive agricultural or horticultural techniques. See 29 CFR 780.205 for further discussion. Gathering and preparing such forestry products as well as transporting them to the mill, processing plant, railroad, or other transportation terminal are among the described operations. Preparing such forestry products does not include operations that change the natural physical or chemical condition of the products or that amount to extracting (as distinguished from gathering) such as shelling nuts, or that mash berries to obtain juices.