Farmworkers

Job description

Crops: Zucchini, Turnips, Radishes, Cabbages, Cauliflower, Squashes, Strawberries, Greens, Okra, Cucumbers, Beans, Beet root, Fruits, Vegetables and melons, Vegetables

Duties will include operation of farm equipment including, but not limited to, tractors with various implements, sprayers, and combines to prepare and maintain land and irrigate, fertilize, cultivate, plant, harvest, load, and transport crops; also perform repair and maintenance on farm equipment when required. Use hand tools, such as but not limited to shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Transplant, weed, thin and prune crops; apply pesticides. Participate in irrigation activities such as maintaining, repairing, and operating irrigation equipment, set up and/or maintain a ridge of earth around fields to maintain an adequate water supply, drain excess water from fields; create openings for drainage overfill; walk each field to check for standing water. Perform sanitation duties that will include removing trash or debris from work areas, farm buildings, and fields; assist in upkeep of sanitation standards required by OSHA such as change potable water quality when necessary; keep hand-washing facilities neat and orderly, clean toilet area of any personal contaminates, and proper disposal of trash or garbage from the facilities. Mow grass around fields and around farm shop locations; dig ditches or channels for drainage or seedlings. Construct trellises, repair farm buildings, or other structures as well as using hand tools to perform maintenance or repairs to fencing around fields and around farm. Inform farmers or farm managers of crop progress. There are few typical days and workers may be required to change duties and/or locations often and engage in various general functions. All other duties, if assigned, will be duties as per SOC/OES Occupation Code (onetonline.org)

Duties may vary from time to time. Workers will perform assigned duties as instructed by their supervisor. Fruit pickers harvest, sort and gather fruit with their hands. Gently remove fruit from branches and vines making sure not to damage fruit. Pickers are expected to work quickly and efficiently. Strawberries grow on low-lying plants, so you must have the endurance and strength to bend over for a long period of time. You will need to be kneeled for a long period of time collecting the strawberries. Once you have removed fruit from the plant you will need to place them in a bucket carefully so no injury may occur to them. Once the bucket is full, you will empty into crates and boxes. Fruit pickers must be detail-oriented, fast, and reliable so they can remove fruit without loss. Prune strawberry bushes by hand using pruning shears and loppers

Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, Radishes, Cabbage, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, & Cauliflower: Workers will help in the process of planting and harvesting (by hand). Workers will pick the vegetables, place in a wash bucket and package (washing and packaging occurs in the field). Each worker must pick the plants clean of all ripe fruits/vegetables. It is the picker's responsibility to sort good product from contaminated or rotting fruits/vegetables to ensure produce is routed to appropriate facilities.

Workers who possess a valid driver’s license and meet all applicable legal requirements, including holding a doctor’s certificate as required by 29 CFR § 500.105, may be asked to drive vehicles for transporting workers, goods, or commodities on company business. This task is voluntary, compensable, and not a mandatory job duty. Workers without a valid driver’s license or doctor’s certificate will still be fully eligible for employment and are not disqualified from any other job responsibilities outlined in this application. The employer can and will make alternative arrangements for the transportation of workers should the need arise.

Special Requirements

Workers must have 3 months of experience in verifiable agricultural work. Specific requirements include lifting up to 80 pounds. Once hired, worker may be required to submit to a random drug test at no cost to worker. Testing positive or failure to comply may result in immediate termination from employment. The employer may terminate a worker if a worker: refuses without a justified cause to perform work for which the worker was recruited and hired; or commits a serious act of misconduct; or fails, after completing any training period, to be able to perform all of the tasks described in the job order. If the worker voluntarily abandons employment before the end of the contract period or is terminated for cause, and the employer notifies the SWA, DOL, and USCIS in the case of an H2A worker, the employer will not be responsible for providing or paying for the subsequent transportation and subsistence expenses of that worker, and the worker is not entitled to the three-fourths guarantee.