Equipment Operator/farmworker/irrigator
Employer
1500 North 480 East (including field/worksites within a 79-mile radius)
Rupert, ID 83350
United States
Job description
Workers will be required to perform a variety of duties related to the production of alfalfa, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkins, beans, winter squash, corn, grain, potatoes, sugar beets, sweet corn. Most of the work activities during the overall contract period, however, will be related to general farm work as well as operating farm equipment and irrigating.
General Farm Work will include the following: carry out team Lead tasks as directed by employer/foreman/supervisor; regularly report to supervisor/manager with completed tasks/status; maintain, drive, attach and operate farm implements/tractors/equipment to till soil, fertilize and harvest crops; make minor mechanical adjustments and repairs on farm machinery/farm vehicles; may mix and/or spray chemicals (according to appropriate restrictive use laws, when/if applicable); remove undesirable and excess growth from crops or farm grounds; remove rocks and/or foreign material from field and machinery; paint/repair/maintain farm structures; maintain/repair fencing; perform general cleanup of farm areas; operate motor bike or all-terrain vehicle in the course of performing duties. Walk behind equipment to ensure plant placement; remove dead plants and replace with seeds or live plants; be able to handle and lift above the head: rolls of plastic, bundles of wire, and rolls of drip tape; remove undesirable and excess growth from crops or farm grounds by hand or with a hoe; trap/poison pests; remove plastic mulch and drip tape from fields after harvest; harvest, pack, and store crop; pick up/handle/climb ladders; clear property; pick crop from plant according to grade, color and size by grasping crop with hands and removing from plant in a motion so as not to harm adjacent plants or vines; prevent bruising of crop or breaking of vines; use small knives or tools to cut crops from vines; inspect growing crops for signs of disease, insect manifestations, worms, or rot; clean fields after harvest; pick crop; harvest, sort, and gather crop by hand; repeatedly catch and throw crops weighing up to 30 pounds; lift crops weighing approximately 80 pounds; wipe dirt off crops; apply stickers to melons, pumpkins and squash prior to packing in bins; place crop in buckets/bags/bins; identify and remove crop that is misshapen, damaged, or inferior; harvest crops into packaging; load crops on farm trucks or field conveyors; hand crop off to or receive from another worker for placement in boxes located on trailers; prepare boxes for packing products; assemble cardboard bins and place on pallets; pickup and move bins/pallets with forklift; place crop in boxes located on trailer; prepare crops for shipment; perform any other labor considered necessary for the efficient structure of properties; sort produce according to grade, color and size; discard diseased/rotting/inferior product and foreign matter; cleanup around conveyors and worksite; place produce in containers or on designated conveyors; determine ripeness and appropriate time to harvest produce. Other farming duties may include the following: apply techniques as instructed by the employer to cut and sort potatoes by using knife to cut potato into sections, discard diseased/rotting/inferior product and foreign matter; report malfunctions; general cleanup; drive, load/unload farm trucks on, or between, farm worksites; haul fertilizer and/or compost to field edge; workers possessing the proper licensure may be asked to transport other farm workers; workers possessing the proper licensure may be asked to transport other farm workers.
Special Requirements
Applicants must have 20 days experience with equipment operation/farm/irrigation work and provide the contact information of at least one reference who can verify experience and performance. Applicants hired must be able to obtain a valid drivers license as driving on public roads may be required. To meet minimum acceptable performance standards when irrigating, the worker must, after a 10-day conditioning period, move an average of at least 48 40-foot sections of 3-inch pipe or 44 40-foot sections of 4-inch pipe per hour under normal working conditions and when harvesting, the worker must, after a 10-day conditioning period, handle an average of at least 600 watermelons an hour under normal working conditions.