Farm Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
blueberries, wine grapes, watermelon, squash, mint, apples, hops, organic sweet corn.
Blueberry Hand Cultivation:
Pull, cut, hoe weeds in blueberry rows, taking care not to damage plants and weed mat.
Spread and remove ground covers when needed.

Hop Hand Cultivation:
Hoe or hand weed around plants while training, while ensuring plants are not harmed.

Mint Hand Cultivation:
Pull, cut, hoe weeds in field rows, taking care not to damage plants.
Spread and remove ground covers when needed.

Watermelon Hand Cultivation:
Pull, cut, hoe weeds in field rows, taking care not to damage plants.
Spread and remove ground covers when needed.

Apple Hand Cultivation:
Pull, cut, hoe weeds in orchard blocks, taking care not to damage trees.
May be required to maneuver tree guards to remove plant material.
Spread and remove ground covers when needed.

Squash Hand Cultivation:
Pull, cut, hoe weeds in field rows, taking care not to damage plants.
Spread and remove ground covers when needed.

Organic Sweet Corn Hand Cultivation:
Pull, cut, hoe weeds in field rows, taking care not to damage plants.
Spread and remove ground covers when needed.

Squash Harvest:
Leveling Bins-Hourly:
Remove excess fruit from full bins and reallocate fruit into empty bins at the loading rea to ensure bin height is correct for stacking. May also stage bins for tractor driver at loading area.

Squash Harvest Forklift Driving-Hourly:
Assist with harvest by moving harvesting equipment between field, loading trucks/Moving full and empty bins in loading area for harvest delivery.

Squash Harvest Tractor Driving-Hourly:
Operate tractor and bin trailer back and forth between the pickers and the loading rea to move fruit and empty bins to appropriate reas, as directed by supervisor.

Squash Picking:
Pick squash and windrow picked fruit.
Load picked fruit into bins on bin trailers.
May operate as transloader to stand in trailer, accept picked fruit and place carefully into the bin.

Watermelon Harvest:
Leveling Bins-Hourly:
Remove excess fruit from full bins and reallocate fruit into empty bins at the loading area to ensure bin height is correct for stacking. May also stage bins for tractor driver at loading area.

Watermelon Harvest Forklift Driving-Hourly:
Assist with harvest by moving harvesting equipment between field, loading trucks/Moving full and empty bins in loading area for harvest delivery.

Watermelon Harvest Tractor Driving-Hourly:
Operate tractor and bin trailer back and forth between the pickers and the loading area to move fruit and empty bins to appropriate reas, as directed by supervisor.

Watermelon Picking:
Pick watermelon and windrow picked fruit.
Load picked fruit into bins on bin trailers.
May operate as transloader to stand in trailer, accept picked fruit and place carefully into the bin.

Apple Harvest:
Spot and/or strip pick apples based on seasonal need.
Snap fruit off tree with thumb and palm of hand to avoid stem pulls, punctures, bruising, or other damage.
Pick culls and peelers out of bins. Fill fruit buckets and place fruit in bins. Follow supervisor/foreman's instructions on color/size requirements.
Must be able to differentiate between colors and fruit varieties accurately.
Operate bin trailers to swap full and empty bins in and out of field. Operate Hyster forklift to move full/empty bins for incoming/outgoing trucks.
Document bins picked and report quality of apples picked to supervisor.
Report on quality of apples, adjust levels of apples in bins, insure bins are ticketed properly before loading onto trucks.
Assist supervisors with logistics and ensure pick quality.

Apple Summer Pruning:
Use lopper or shear to prune trees by tipping or removing libs, per supervisors direction.
Prune shoots using shears in order to allow sunlight penetration, per supervisors direction.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of 3 months of prior experience working in tree fruit orchards, blueberries or hops, handling manual and mechanized tasks associated with commodity production. Applicants must be able to furnish verbal or written statement establishing relevant prior work experience. Workers must be able to perform manual and mechanized tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 60 lbs.