Farm Workers

Job description

Plant, transplant, cultivate, harvest, grade and pack sweet onions, leafy greens, sweet corn, and salad onions by hand and machine. Throw (pitch) onion plants into beds. Workers will then put sprout into pre-dug hole and bend down to cover with dirt. Clip top stem and bottom roots off of Vidalia Sweet Onions with shears as instructed by supervisor and fill a five gallon bucket. Lift and dump full five gallon bucket into bin. Pick up any loose or dropped onions and place back into bucket being careful not to drop from a height greater than 8 inches at any time. Harvest salad onions by pulling, using shears to clip tops and bottoms, remove excess dirt, bundle, wrap and place bundles into boxes. Carry and load completed boxes onto moving trailers.

Work in groups to harvest sweet corn by hand pulling and packing corn into crates while riding on a mule train. Walk field ahead of mule train pulling ears that are too low for harvesting from the machine. Make sure that stalk is pulled clean of all ears of correct size and maturity.

Transplant greens. Take transplant, insert into pre-dug holes, and tap soil over root being careful not to damage plant. Harvest greens according to supervisor's instructions by walking down assigned row and cutting greens with a sharp knife being careful not to drop greens nor damage greens or roots. Remove any discolored or defective leaves, place bands around bundles, place into box, carry and load completed boxes onto moving trailers.

Use hand tools such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, shears and knives. Grade, sort, or classify agricultural products by size, weight, color or condition according to factors such as species, length, width, appearance, feel, smell and quality. Discard inferior or defective products and/or foreign matter and place acceptable products in containers for further processing. Weigh products or estimate their weight visually or by feel. Place products in containers according to grade and mark grades on containers. Record grade and/or identification numbers on tags or on shipping, receiving or sales sheets. Workers will make boxes for packing and clean, pack, and load harvested products and count and check products. Workers must use care when harvesting, grading and packing not to damage or bruise produce. Work in groups to plant and harvest crops with trucks and machinery that are moving through the field alongside workers. Clean dirt, foreign matter and unwanted debris from the products. Examine and inspect acceptable products to ensure packing specifications are met and counted while being placed in containers for marketing. As a minor activity, sort, count, check, grade, load and pack imported onions. Imported onions sorted, counted, checked, graded, packed and loaded at our facility located at 1188 Lawson Road, Lyons, Georgia, make up approximately 3% of the total number of onions. Repair fences and farm buildings. Set up and operate irrigation equipment, clear and maintain irrigation ditches and participate in irrigation activities. Weed and thin crops. Operate, repair and maintain farm vehicles, implements and mechanical equipment. Workers are also responsible for farm, field and shed sanitation including picking up trash, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping floors and other farm and shed sanitation duties. Assist with Good Agricultural Practices policies.

Allergies to ragweed, goldenrod, honey bees, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or related chemicals may affect a worker's ability to perform the job. Persons seeking employment in this position must be available for the entire period requested by the employer.

Special Requirements

One month of verifiable farm work experience including planting and harvesting vegetables required. Work in extremely hot, cold and/or wet weather. Work involves repetitive walking, bending, reaching, stooping, pushing, pulling, and lifting, carrying and loading up to 60 lbs. Employer is a Drug-Free Workplace. Employer reserves the right to conduct employer-paid upon-suspicion and/or post-accident drug testing. Any employee who declines to take or fails a drug test will be immediately terminated.