Farmworker

Job description

Crops/Commodities: Asparagus, zucchini, broccoli, cabbage, corn, butternut squash, green beans, carrots, beets, apples, and cherry.

Rock/Roots/Stick/Brush Pick-Up and Removal: Worker will pick up hand rocks, roots, sticks, brush from ground and place on trailers, in loader buckets or piles. The use of pointed shovel, ax, loppers or pry bar may be necessary for help with pick up. Pay will be hourly. Worker will be required to walk, bend, kneel, stoop and lift for long periods of time.

Weeding: Workers will walk down rows of planted crops using a garden hoe to remove weeds from growing around and within the plants. Care must be exercised as to not dig up or harm the adjacent vegetable plants. Worker must be able to walk, bend, kneel, stoop and stand for long periods of time and work at a steady and efficient pace. Workers will remove weeds by use of a hoe/pickaxe from the walk-way and remove all weeds growing around plants by hand. Workers will remove weeds from the growing area by raking piles of debris and dispose of it as directed by the farm manager and or/crew supervisor.

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, planting crops/trees, transplanting (may include riding on a transplant machine), cutting spears and sorting, weeding or hoeing crops, root stock work, cleaning, repairing seed beds and racks, setting up and moving irrigation pipes and equipment. Tasks the worker must be able to perform include: assist in pest control; install culverts for field drainage; remove and reinstall sprinklers, remove debris, boxes, and discarded plants from fields to keep clean growing areas; general ranch maintenance; basic irrigation maintenance; clean and maintenance equipment and tools, assist in equipment cleaning, assist in applications by hand or tractor of fertilizers and or/pesticides; frost control of sprinklers, frost blanket coverings, or hoop coverings. Assist with farm building/field maintenance and repairs. Repair fences.

Asparagus Harvest: Worker will hand harvest asparagus and plant asparagus. Asparagus plants can grow 3-10 inches per day, and during growing season, the field needs to be picked daily, or as often that is needed to meet quality and length requirements. In an asparagus field, asparagus pickers will sit in bent positions while riding on a specially designed picking cart, while one of the pickers is designated as the driver of the picking cart in which they pick asparagus in their row while steering the cart with their feet. Pickers use both hands to hand snap the asparagus spears just above the ground as to not leave tall stubble no more than inch allowed. Pickers may be asked to cut asparagus in the field using a cutting tool or knife. There is no pulling of spear and root out from the ground causing white ends. Asparagus is placed in plastic lugs in an orientated manner-butts to the center of the lug and heads or tips to the end. While workers are picking, any non-marketable product will be harvested and thrown on the grown so as to prevent from becoming a continuous problem. Each lug holds approximately 25 pounds when full of asparagus. Workers may be required to walk through rows behind the picking cart and stoop to hand snap spears just above ground that the workers on the picking cart missed. Worker will pick according to grade, color and size.

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.