Farmworkers & Laborers

Job description

General Responsibilities
The farm work position includes duties related to the cultivation, manual harvesting, and housing of tobacco. Workers must be prepared to: Stand, walk, stoop, bend, and lift up to 75 pounds repeatedly; Work long hours outdoors in all weather conditions, including temperatures ranging from 40°F to 100°F; Perform tasks that require physical endurance and attention to safety; All work must be performed in accordance with the employer’s specifications and under supervision. Workers must follow all safety instructions given by management and supervisors.
Task Descriptions
1. Field Maintenance: Weeding using hoes or by hand, Straightening tobacco stalks
Irrigation duties: Digging and maintaining ditches, Installing, maintaining, and repairing irrigation components
2. Farm & Barn Maintenance: General cleaning of farm and barn areas; Post-harvest cleanup and litter removal
3. Topping & Suckering: Removal of flowering tops, suckers, and bad leaves from tobacco plants
4. Tobacco Harvesting: Workers enter mature tobacco rows (plants 4–6 feet tall, spaced ~20 inches apart), Bend to pick bottom leaves, place them under the arm, and carry them to a field sled, Lay leaves neatly and return to repeat the process
Must be able to: Identify ripened tobacco by color, Avoid breaking plants, Work in rhythm with field sleds and Use hand or mechanical harvesters (including B&O Harvester)
5. Housing Tobacco: Packing, stringing, and staking, Removing tobacco from barns and baling for transport, Sheets of tobacco may weigh up to 300 lbs
Work Conditions & Environmental Exposure
Work may occur when leaves are wet (from dew or rain). There is potential exposure to: Noxious plants and insects, Chemical agents including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc. Allergies to ragweed, goldenrod, bees, or chemicals may affect job performance

The employer is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and will offer U.S. workers at least the same opportunities, wages, benefits, and working conditions as those in which the employer offers or intends to offer to nonimmigrant workers.
Non-U.S. workers may be displaced as a result of one or more U.S. workers becoming available for the job during the employer's recruitment period.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of two months of verifiable, prior experience working on a tobacco farm handling both manual and machine tasks associated with tobacco production and harvest activities. Applicants must be able to furnish verifiable job reference(s) or comparable third party documentation from recent employer(s) establishing acceptable prior experience.

Saturday work required.

Post-hire and upon suspicion drug test required.

Employees will have an unpaid lunch break daily.