Farmworkers And Laborers,crop

Job description

Fruit Trees: Primary job will be harvesting fruit trees and small fruit. Secondary work will be pruning, planting, fertilizing, staking, cultivating, suckering, watering, training, hand thinning, and other general care associated with fruit trees and small fruits. Worker may perform any combination of the following duties: cultivating and otherwise participating in horticultural duties, loading and unloading plants and trees onto trucks, trailers, and wagons. Hauling and spreading topsoil, fertilizer, and other materials to condition land, dig, take, and screen soil. Plant, spray, weed, and water plants, shrubs, and trees. May plant trees and plants in containers or in the ground. All equipment is provided by contractor, e.g. ladder, pruners, loppers, etc.
Nursery Work: Primary job will be propagation of nursery trees, including grafting, budding, and tryping. Secondary work may include cultivating, suckering, stripping, seeding, thinning, weeding, placement & removal of tree clips on buds, planting, pruning, digging, sorting, grading, watering, and other general care associated with propagation and production of nursery trees. All equipment is provided by contractor, e.g. pruners, knifes, ties, etc.
Planting/Cultivating/Harvesting Fruits: Workers may plant by hand, pick berries from plants, and carry containers and place along rows for collection. May be identified with tasks performed, such as picking, cutting, bunching, and washing with harvested crops such as apricots, cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, apples, blueberries, pears, grapes, quince, etc. Workers will perform all duties to promote market quality development of crops.
Other Related Duties: Workers may chop weeds from plants with a hoe, apply side dressing to tree wounds, drain fields, prepare land for planting, maintenance of tools and equipment and other work that is directly related to the crop and activites for which the worker is hired. Such work will be offered when climate or crop conditions preclude working in the primary activites stated above. General farm upkeep and maintenance such as painting, fixing, cleaning, and organizing out building and equipment. Some workers may be responsible stacking produce on pallets. Some workers are responsible for picking fresh fruit. The fruit goes straight to the customer and is not sorted first and is expected to be good quality.

Workers must be able to perform strenuous manual labor outdoors in all weather conditions, including extreme heat, cold, and rain, for a minimum of six (6) hours per day. The position requires physical strength and endurance to bend, stoop, and stand for extended periods, as well as manual dexterity to repetitively use hands in a fast-paced agricultural environment. Lifting up to 60 lbs is required but does not involve specialized skill or training. The employer will provide all tools, supplies, and equipment required (if applicable) to perform assigned duties at no cost to the worker. Consistent with applicable law, the employer may recover the reasonable cost of repair or replacement of tools or equipment if loss or damage results from the worker’s willful misconduct or gross negligence. Any such recovery will occur only after the damage has occurred, upon receipt of the worker’s voluntary written authorization, and provided such recovery does not violate applicable wage law.

Special Requirements

This type of work, involves working conditions that require tremendous stamina, a high level of physical activity in cold or extremely hot conditions in direct sunlight and in adverse weather such as rain. The work requires a high level of physical conditioning.