Farmworkers And Laborers, Crop, Nursery, And Greenhouse
Employer
8403 Mason Road
Berlin Heights, OH 44814
United States
Job description
Pruning:
• Work Involves cutting strategic branches out of either cherry, peach, plum or apple trees as directed by farm managers. Work will involve carrying and climbing a 30-pound ladder to a standing height of 5 feet above.
• grade. Work will involve use of 36" wooden-handled pruning shears and/or hand held small shears. Work will involve pulling by hand new vertical growth (called "suckers") in apple trees. Additional equipment could include battery-powered hand shears… moving parts with blades must be handled with the utmost care.
• Work also involved the operation of a 3-wheeled, self-propelled pruning tower. This is a gas-powered vehicle requiring frequent maintenance and familiarity with mechanical equipment.
• Heavy branches in older trees require the use of a chainsaw.
Thinning:
• Work entails selectively removing small fruit (approx. +1/2 in diameter) of peach and apple to a desired spacing on the tree to allow better fruit growth and healthier, more consistent production.
• Work entails carrying and climbing a 30-pound ladder to a standing height of 5 feet above grade. Work may entail the use of a 24" padded wooden club to break up large peach clusters.
Harvest:
• (Peaches) Work involves selective picking ripe peaches exhibiting good uniform red/yellow color and moderate firmness. Most peach varieties are picked 3 to 4 times in order to achieve optimal conditions for all fruit. Work involves using a picking strap temporarily attached to a wooden peach crate that holds 25 pounds of harvested product. Individuals will need to carry this assembly until such a time when the crate is full, but not overflowing. The crate then needs to be carried back to the truck or tractor holding the harvested fruit as switched out for an empty crate. Repeat.
• (Apples) Work involves picking ripe apples exhibiting good, uniform color, firmness & sugar content specific to each variety. Proper instruction will take place at the beginning of the season as well as for each different variety that warrants specific consideration. In particular, the Honeycrisp variety will need extra care in harvesting and handling, as it is both a sensitive and valuable crop. Most varieties are picked 1or 2 times to maximize quality. Honeycrisp is picked in upwards of 5 times to achieve the same quality.
• (Apples) Work involves using a padded galvanized harvest bag that contains about 3/4 of a bushel (30#) of apples. Crew members carry this bag over their shoulder with a woven cotton strap and move up and down specific rows of apples filling the bag. Once filled, the bag is walked back to one of our tractors pulling a specific trailer containing multiple 18-bu. bins. The bag is lowered gently into the bin so as to not bruise the fruit. Apples fall out the bottom of the bag. The worker then secures his bag and repeats the process.
• (Peaches & Apples) Work entails carrying and climbing a 30# ladder to a standing height of 5 feet above grade.
• (Cherries) Work requires carefully selecting cherry fruit with particular attention to stem retention, for freshness. Some selective culling in the orchard may be required. Large trees require frequent trips up and down the aforementioned ladder. Hand-harvested fruit is placed into a 15# pale affixed to each worker’s chest with crass-back straps. The pale is emptied upon filling into Reusable Plastic Containers (RPCs) at a central drop location, usually on the back of a tractor or pick-up truck that moves with the crew as they progress through a picking area.
Special Requirements
Physically able to bend, stoop, and able to stand on feet for long periods of time. Physically able to meet and perform all job specifications. May be required to take random drug and / or alcohol tests, at no cost to the worker. Testing positive or failure to comply may result in immediate termination from employment. All testing and background check will occur after employment has started and is not a part of the interview process. May be required to submit a criminal background check, at no cost to the worker. Felony convictions that employer reasonably believes, consistent with current law, will impair the safety and living conditions of other workers or other individuals on the farm will result in immediate termination. Failure to comply with request for criminal background check may result in immediate termination of employment.