Crew Leader/nursery Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
nursery stock.
First-line supervision and coordination of agricultural workers. Under the direction of farm management, assign tasks and monitor crop production operations. Train workers in techniques such as planting, cultivating, or harvesting and in use of safety measures. Train workers in safe equipment operation. Take directions from managers on work schedules, production requirements, and conditions of equipment and supplies. Maintain details of personnel actions. Operate employer's electronic time keeping system. First-line supervisors do not have direct hiring or firing authority, but may be asked by farm management to give warnings or take disciplinary action against works for safety or work rule violations.

Work in greenhouse facility to plant, cultivate, harvest, transplant, weed, and trim, using hand tools, gardening tools, and mechanical cutter. Other activities include, but are not limited to, shoveling, hoeing, ground preparation, lifting, carrying, loading/unloading plant supplies and other manual tasks. Clear debris from field and clean/maintain greenhouse buildings, structures, equipment, and work areas. Assist with greenhouse repairs and maintenance, paint, build, frame, cover greenhouses with plastic, secure frame and plastic permanent service, and remove debris and waste from site.

Prepare soil/medium for planting. Install plastic on soil amendments for storage. Plant, cultivate, and maintain nursery stock and/or bedding plants in condition for shipping and sale to customers. Harvest, pack, space, deflower pots or saucers under plants, hang baskets, label, tag, hanger, transplant, pot, dig, store and pull/select plants by variety. Take cutting according to specifications. Stick cuttings by hand and transplant liners by hand or mechanical planter. Clean trays and pots. Make flats by placing inserts or pots into trays or saucers into pots and placing into soil machinery. Put Growcoons or Elle Pots in flats and fill with soil medium. Stick plant cutting and/or seed into medium. Perform cleaning and sanitation in production areas as required. Load/unload carts with plants and move to designated locations. Perform general plant maintenance. Prune, disbud, tie, ring, net, trim, space, sort, straighten, transplant, and cull plants to ensure availability of marketable products. Move and install irrigation pipes and equipment. Dig, count, grade, and inventory plants. Prepare plants for planting by plug popping out of container/flat or trimming. Prepare plants for digging by tying or wrapping as necessary. Dig plants. Clean and dip bulbs.

Load and unloads plants and supplies from trucks. Remove and apply shade tarps to greenhouses. Install and remove fan covers. Operate plant fixer machine and other machinery and equipment to cultivate, harvest, de-leaf, and trim. Pull flats from the greenhouse to move or to throw away. Dump lily boxes. Locate flats in the greenhouse, pick them up, set them onto a rack, and relocate them to the appropriate area. Assemble racks for plants to be shipped on. Maintain racks by greasing, assembling, and putting away for storage and taking apart. Racks are custom built for each individual order and may vary in size. Workers may use powered tools in the assembly and disassembly process.

Assist in preparing the ground by leveling and removing old ground cover cloth and replacing with new cloth to place plants. Remove and apply shade tarps or plastic to greenhouses. Cover and uncover plants with frost/freeze protection fabrics. Mow, cut, and weed fields. Perform ditching, shoveling, hoeing, hauling, ground preparation, and other manual tasks. Bending, stooping and kneeling required. Use tools including but not limited to hoes, shovels, shears, clippers, loppers, saws, planters, plows, sprayers, cultivators, power shears, leaf blowers, mowers, weed trimmers, and cart movers. Lift, carry, and load/unload products or supplies.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of 6 months of agricultural experience working in a greenhouse overseeing crews handling mechanized and manual tasks. Crew supervisors are responsible for overseeing that farmworkers perform manual tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Applicants must be able to furnish verbal or written statement establishing relevant prior work experience. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 60 lbs. Employer-paid pre-employment and post-hire drug testing required. Criminal background check required.