Agricultural Equipment Operator

Job description

Crops grown include, but are not limited to, apples.

Drives and operates farm machinery to plant, cultivate, spray and/or harvest apples. Attaches farm implements to tractor and drives tractor in fields to prepare soil, plant, fertilize, mow, spray and/or harvest crops. Make adjustments, clean, lubricate, and make minor repairs to farm machinery. May mix chemical ingredients and spray fruit trees to control insects, fungus, weeds, or diseases. The employer assures that workers hired under this order who will be handling pesticides will be provided appropriate training. May remove excess growth using pruning saws and clippers. May irrigate soil. May thin blossoms and immature fruit. May prop limbs to prevent breakage. May operate frost protection equipment.

Workers may 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 to market or storage facilities; 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. Only 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 on company business. This task is voluntary, compensable, and not a mandatory job duty. Workers without a valid Class D 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.

May pick fruit during harvest. Worker places ladder firmly against or within tree in a secure position so as not to break limbs or knock off fruit and to prevent slipping or falling. Workers will be directed to strip all fruit from tree at one picking or to spot pick (selective picking) according to size and color, depending on crop conditions and state of maturity. Fruit picked as drops is never mixed with tree fruit. All fruit must be handled with care to avoid causing bruising. Fruit injured by bruising during picking shall not exceed 4% as defined in the U.S. standard for grades. Each worker's picked fruit will be inspected according to instructions given each day by the orchard foreman. The employer will expect the workers to pick a minimum of 70 bu boxes of Apples/Harvest Fresh Market per day.

May also perform any combination of tasks involved in planting, cultivating, and harvesting of crops such as tilling soil, planting stock, pruning, removing suckers and runners from trees, vines, and plants. Other duties may include laying out irrigation pipe and installing sprinklers, assisting in repairing fences, loading and unloading trucks, clearing fields, burning brush, hand thinning fruit and smudging. Will repair, paint, sanitize, marking of bins, picking buckets & ladders. Will use appropriate tools such as shovels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks and shears. May press cider from harvested fruit and bag or box harvested fruit for roadside stand.

Special Requirements

Workers must have at least 3 months of experience in verifiable similar work experience. Specific requirements include lifting up to 75 pounds. Workers must be able to demonstrate that they are physically able to perform the work specified in this Job Order. Due to health and safety concerns relating to pesticide application and the operation of equipment on our farm, workers are required to have proficient English language skills.