Farmworkers And Laborers

Job description

The farm work position includes duties associated with the planting, cultivation and harvesting of tobacco and strawberries. This work can require standing, walking, stooping, bending, and lifting up to 50 pounds for long periods of time outdoors in all weather conditions. It also includes making important decisions based on size, coloring, and ripeness according to prescribed standards.

This work requires adherence to important food safety and quality standard operating procedures and the ability to work quickly and consistently alongside fellow workers with a positive, professional, team-based attitude and a consideration for the safety and health of fellow workers and end consumers.

Job Specifications

Tobacco:
Harvest workers will move into a row of mature tobacco plants. The tobacco plant may be from 4 to 6 feet tall and spaced about 20 inches apart in each row. Starting at the bottom of the plant, the worker will bend over at the waist and pick the bottom two or three leaves from each plant. Staying bent over, the worker will move down the row of mature tobacco repeating the above process. The bottom leaves may be as low as two inches from the ground. The worker will place the picked leaves under his arm. Once the worker has gathered an armload of leaves, he will carry it to a field sled. The leaves must be laid neatly onto the field sled. The worker will then return to the row and repeat the process. All workers must be able to distinguish ripe tobacco by observing the color of the leaves. Care must be exercised to prevent breaking of the plants. Workers must be able to move quickly along the rows and move in unison with the field sleds. Workers may ride mechanical transplanter, B&O Harvester, (to hand harvest), and mechanical harvester. Workers may walk behind transplanter to reset missing plants. Workers must remove all flowering tops and suckers from tobacco plants. Workers may assist in removing tobacco from barn and baling it to be loaded on trucks. Weight of sheets of tobacco may be 300lbs. Workers are required to work in fields when tobacco leaves are wet with dew or rain. Worker should be able to stand for prolonged periods of time to prime (pull) leaves, which are from two to ten inches from the ground. Workers may be exposed to noxious plants, insects and insect control sprays.

Strawberries:
Plastic and Drip Irrigation: Workers will help install black plastic and drip irrigation on rows in the field being careful to cover all of the exposed edges of plastic cover with soil and being careful not to tear or punch holes in plastic. Workers may be asked to utilize implements associated with the installation of the plastic row covers incidental to performing required tasks on the ground.

Strawberry Planting: Workers will plant strawberry plants in pre-punches holes on the plastic covered rows being careful to place the strawberry plants at the same depth in the soil as they grew in the nursery.

Strawberry Harvesting: Workers will bend and stoop to harvest strawberries according to size, color, shape and degree of maturity and place into field containers. Workers will be expected to pick fully ripe strawberries, discard any cat-faced, deformed, decaying or undersized berries according to supervisors instructions. Workers must carefully remove any undesirable berries from the plant that would later cause fungi to attack the plant. Workers may carry full containers weighing approximately 25 pounds to empty them into a field bin or load them onto a trailer. In some instances, workers will be expected to fill a 4-quart/one gallon plastic pail carefully filling the pail to capacity (buckets must be filled for correct measure and weight). The pails will be carried in a 2-bucket carrier to be picked in. When full, the containers will be carried to end of rows at designated truck-loading place. Then the buckets of berries will be inspected for quality and loaded for transportation to roadside market or farm coolers.

Special Requirements

The employer may conduct drug/alcohol testing post-employment and at the employer's expense.

The employer may conduct criminal background checks post-employment and at the employer's expense.