Nursery Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
nursery stock.
General Farm Labor:
Some of the work required from the worker to be performed that is incidental to farming crops listed in this application may be described as performing hand cultivation duties, weeding or hoeing crops, cleaning, repairing seed beds and racks, setting up and moving irrigation pipes and equipment. Tasks the worker must be able to perform include: apply mulch by row mulcher or by hand; apply ground cover to beds using machine or by hand; remove debris from bed preparation process to clean growing area; finish row ends with shovels provided by employer; unload plants by hand from trucks and move plants to planting location by hand; assist in pest controls; install culverts for field drainage; remove and reinstall sprinklers during bed preparation, re-plant missing or unhealthy plants as directed; remove debris, boxes, keep clean growing areas; general nursery maintenance; basic irrigation maintenance; make sandbags, clean and maintain equipment and tools, assist in equipment cleaning, assist in applications by hand or tractor of fertilizers and or/pesticides, apply mouse bait, check and maintain rabbit and mouse traps, cover plant houses with plastic or shade cloth, frost control of sprinklers, frost blanket coverings, or hoop coverings. Worker may also be required to perform the following duties: tilling soil, level land, bed rows, lay/pull drip, connect/disconnect drip, patch/repair plastic, cut and tuck ends of plastic, pull/burn plastic, shovel work, digging/cleaning ditches, set/fix rain birds, fix/adjust mist/irrigation nozzles, punch holes, cut runners, trim leaves (bushes), trees/limbs, thinning/pruning crops, chopping/twisting plants, pick up/burn trash, lay ground cover, pull grass, operate plastic machine (during plastic application), load and unload plastic & drip rolls onto plastic machine, put in drain pipes, paint, mow, make/assemble boxes, clean (equipment and/or facilities), operate equipment, load and unload vehicles. May be necessary to assist in the use of all farm equipment such as tractors, trucks and harvest machinery, etc.

Apple Harvest:
Quality is essential. Different varieties of apples will be picked according to established company procedures based on the end use (spot picking for fresh; small percentage of culls for processing.) Workers must be able to differentiate between colors accurately in order to perform color-specific picking. Care must be taken when picking so as not to damage or bruise fruit. Workers must be able to pick and dump fruit without stem pulls, punctures, bruising or other damage which diminishes quality. Observation of bruised, damaged or cull fruit by the supervisor, or as indicated on the pick quality report will result in a verbal disciplinary warning. A written disciplinary warning may occur when a bin is inspected and a significant number of culls, bruised or damaged fruit are found by the supervisor. Upon the third notice a worker's employment may be terminated. Company supervisors will explain and demonstrate if necessary picking requirements to all workers at the start of the season and as needed thereafter to ensure quality standards. Workers will be expected to pick apples in a timely manner, free of bruises and defects. For food and general safety purposes, all workers will be required to follow common sanitary practices, as specified by the employer, at all times. Work area must be kept clean and safe by keeping dropped fruit away from the bin in order to prevent missteps when emptying the picking bucket. Harvesting apples may require the use of ladders. The harvesting begins at the bottom of the tree, then the worker moves to the middle of the tree utilizing an aluminum ladder, then completes the harvest of the tree at the top, utilizing a wooden ladder, at the direction of the supervisor. Workers must be able to carry an 18- foot ladder and must be able to harvest at a height of up to 16 feet.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of 3 months of agricultural experience handling both manual and mechanized tasks. 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.