Agricultural Equipment Operator

Job description

Operate trucks or other multi-purpose vehicles to transport workers from housing (whether on or off farm) to the farm properties; haul tools, supplies, or crops; transport workers from place to place around the farm properties during the workday (including on public roads to reach farmer?s fields and/or transport workers to the grocery store, or bank on an as-needed basis. Load agricultural products into trucks, and drive trucks to market or storage facilities. Not all workers are requested to drive; drivers will be required to possess a valid operators license. No one will be rejected for the position that does not possess a class D license.
Workers are screened for compliance with the following criteria:
1.) confirm ability, availability, qualifications and willingness to perform work described and confirm intuition to work the entire season
2) local workers confirm availability of reliable daily transportation to and from the job site for the entire season. Non-local workers confirm availability of transportation to job site to begin work
3) confirmation of full disclosure of all terms, condition, and nature of work-job by local employment staff

Must have a minimum of 3 months verifiable experience in performing the tasks described in this order. Manually prune, plant, cultivate & harvest tree fruit & field crops, including apples, peaches, berries, cantaloupes & tomatoes. Use hand tools, such as shovels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, & knives. Mixing/transporting chemicals, fertilize, tilling soil, transplanting, weeding, thinning, and pruning crops. Packing in the warehouse. Set up irrigation equipment and participate in irrigation activities. Construct trellises and repair fences. Operate tractors, tractor-drawn machinery, for plowing, fertilizing and spraying crops. Harvest fruits & vegetables by hand, being able to use ladders up to 16, and weighing about 2 lbs per foot and buckets in excess of 75 lbs. A minimum productivity standard applies; 80 bu boxes of fresh market apples per day. Fruit to be handled with care to avoid bruising. Bruising, not to exceed 4%. Employer will allow 4 days for training for workers to reach production standards. While working in the field, all cell phone usage is limited to emergency use only. Due to the health & safety concerns, workers must understand basic instructions in English.

Special Requirements

The employer will provide 4 days of training to allow workers to pick a minimum of 80 bu boxes of apples per day
with no more than 4% bruising.

The employer will not guarantee to pay the workers a bonus but reserves the right, at the employers sole discretion, to offer a bonus or to pay an hourly wage rate in excess of the highest applicable rate stated above based on longevity of tenure or exceptional job performance.

The employer reserves the right, at the employer?s sole discretion, to temporarily raise the above listed piece rate due to crop conditions. In the tasks where there is no prevailing practice to pay a piece rate, the employer, at his sole discretion, may opt to pay per hour to ensure a good quality product.