MIGRANT LABORERS WHO PICKED STRAWBERRIES IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS IN THE SPRING OF 1958 WERE SURVEYED. THIS PARTICULAR SAMPLE WAS SELECTED FOR STUDY BECAUSE FAR MORE CHILDREN ARE INVOLVED IN THE HARVEST OF STRAWBERRIES THAN IN ANY OTHER FARM TASK OF THE AREA. MIGRANTS WHO WERE INTERVIEWED WERE SELECTED BY SYSTEMATIC RANDOM SAMPLING--A PROCEDURE THAT WORKED WELL FOR MIGRANTS WHO HAD FAMILIES. SINGLE WORKERS WERE UNREPRESENTED IN THE FINAL SAMPLE OF OVER 200 CASES. INFORMATION WAS ALSO GATHERED FROM ABOUT 60 COOPERATING FARMERS AND FROM SCHOOL RECORDS OF THE MIGRANT CHILDREN. DATA WERE OBTAINED ON FAMILY COMPOSITION, EDUCATION, WORK, INCOME, MOBILITY, HEALTH, LIVING CONDITIONS WHILE WORKING IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS, ASPIRATIONS, PLANS, AND ATTITUDES. SPECIAL ATTENTION WAS DEVOTED TO OBTAINING ACCURATE DATA ON THE EDUCATION OF THE CHILDREN. ANALYSES WERE CONDUCTED ON THE BASES OF (1) ALL CASES, (2) COMPARISONS BETWEEN WHITES AND NONWHITES, AND (3) COMPARISONS BETWEEN SEMIMOBILE AND MOBILE WHITES. THE LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AMONG THE MIGRANT FARM WORKERS WAS FOUND NOT TO BE CAUSED BY WORKER INFERIORITY (ONLY A MINORITY BEING MARKEDLY INFERIOR), BUT BY A WIDE VARIETY OF ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL FACTORS. ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST SELECTED ISSUES ON THE GENERAL PROBLEM OF FARM WORKERS WERE PRESENTED, INCLUDING EXTENSION OF FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE-RATE LEGISLATION TO AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT, DISCONTINUANCE OF IMPORTATION OF FARM LABORERS FROM MEXICO, FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR SUMMER SCHOOLS FOR MIGRANT CHILDREN, FURTHER CHILD LABOR LEGISLATION, AND LEGISLATION SETTING MINIMUM HOUSING STANDARDS FOR FARM LABORERS. ON THE BASIS OF SURVEY FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE MIGRANT FARM LABOR RESEARCH WERE DEVELOPED AND CATEGORIZED. (JH)