Hand Harvesting Sweet Potatoes

Job description

General Farm Labor: Workers will walk along rows as specified by the employer and remove weeds and grass from fields by hand or using a hoe. Workers do not load packed final products onto trucks for shipment. Cultivate and hand-harvest harvest sweet potatoes. Load and unload sweet potato. May construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities prolonged walking, standing, bending, stooping, and reaching. The job is outdoors and continues in all types of weather. Workers may be requested to submit to random drug or alcohol tests at no cost to the worker. Failure to comply with the request or testing positive may result in immediate termination. All testing will occur post-hire and is not a part of the interview process. A negative result may be required post-hire and before commencing work. Must be able to lift 75 lbs. to shoulder height repetitively throughout the workday and able to lift and carry 75 lbs. in the field. Must not hinder another worker's productivity. Use of a personal cell phone or another personal electronic device during working hours is strictly prohibited except for work-related calls or emergencies, and violation may result in immediate termination. Though not a hiring requirement, if a worker drives a company vehicle during the period of employment, then at the time of operating the company vehicle, the driver must possess a valid driver's license issued by a U.S. state or foreign equivalent and operate the company vehicle in accordance with the license restrictions and vehicle classifications applicable to that license. Requires one month of verifiable prior farmworker experience in the crop activities listed.

Sweet potato harvest workers will walk along row that has been previously plowed. Workers will stoop, bend and kneel to pick up sweet potatoes using hands and fingers to dig out unexposed potatoes. Workers may grade in the field separating #1s and #2s into separated 5/8 field hampers. Canners, when harvested, will be placed into a separate bin. Damaged or diseased potatoes will not be harvested. Worker will be required to stay on assigned row. Full hampers weighing up 35 lbs. will be carried to truck row to be loaded onto truck or trailer. The Driver will move the field truck down the fields and once full will drive it to the unloading site on or near the field. Workers may be required to ride mechanical harvester. Workers may be required to perform other duties as required by the employer. Hand harvesting sweet potatoes will be paid on a piece rate. Mechanical harvest work, if any, will be paid hourly.

Special Requirements

Workers may be required to perform work that is incidental to farming the crops listed in the application. All other duties, if any are assigned, will be those duties of Farm Worker, Diversified Crops, DOT code 407.687-010 (SOC(ONET/OES) code 45-2092.02). This is a very demanding and competitive business in which quality specifications must be rigorously adhered to. Sloppy work cannot and will not be tolerated.