Nursery Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
Nursery Field Stock – Woody Ornamental Trees and Shrubs.
This job requires a minimum of three months of verifiable prior experience working in field nursery and field tree production handling both manual and machine tasks associated with field commodity production and harvest activities, including experience in hand-digging. Workers will perform heavy mechanized and manual field work using power equipment, prepare field-grown trees and shrubs for digging by tying or wrapping as necessary, dig, wrap burlap or other covering around root balls and securing with 3-ply twine and/or nails, crimping wire baskets, lift, carry and load field nursery stock or field nursery supplies.

Prepare fields for planting by clearing cull stock, brush, and debris, plant bareroot liners or containerized plants by hand (including riding and inserting liners through a mechanical planter) hand dig, load, unload, or transplant balled and burlapped nursery stock, shear field shrubs, trench, hoe weeds, apply fertilizer. While fertilizing field stock, workers will be expected to pick up and carry 60 pounds of fertilizer and distribute it with a 4-0z. cup. Accurate visual calibration and proper placement of fertilizer is required. Plants must be handled carefully to ensure that minimal leaves, limbs, and roots are not broken during digging, handling, wrapping and/or transplanting processes.

Most field work is performed in crews of from 3 to 6 workers.Crew work may consist of hand hoeing around field grown nursery stock.

Mechanized tree spade workers will work as part of a crew comprised of one operator and 2 or more helpers. The helpers will aid in the removal of the tree from the tree spade, pin the burlap in an acceptable manner, crimp wire basket around the rootball, lace top of ball with twine, and crimp basket to tighten twine. The employer expects tree spade crews to harvest between 50 and 100 trees per day depending on size and variety.

Work will also include heavy mechanized field work using power equipment. By way of example and not limitation, power equipment may include power shears, skid steers, and tractors. Workers will be expected to operate and maintain agricultural equipment with or without direction.

Workers will perform work including but not limited to planting and transplanting field stock, and load field plants onto wagons and trucks. Remove plastic from seasonal holding houses in spring.

Workers with appropriate licenses may operate general purpose vehicles to transport workers, equipment and product from one field location or facility to another.

Workers are expected to perform duties including loading of field stock. Workers may assist in loading trucks with field nursery stock and materials weighing up to 80 lbs. and lifting to a height of 5 feet, including loading empty wooden pallets. Workers should be able to work on their feet in bent positions for long periods of time. Work requires repetitive movements and extensive walking. Allergies to ragweed, goldenrod, insect spray, related chemicals, etc. may affect workers’ ability to perform the job. Workers are exposed to wet weather early in the morning through the heat of the day, working in fields. Temperatures may range from 10 to 100 F. Workers may be required to work during occasional showers not severe enough to stop field operations. Workers should be physically able to do the work required with or without reasonable accommodations.

Employer assures that workers will be provided transportation from living quarters to work site every day (for workers who must be provided housing under the applicable regulations.)

While the employer does not require prospective applicants to take and pass a drug test prior to a hiring decision, the employer has a no-exceptions drug policy requiring newly-hired employees to take and pass an employer-paid drug test.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of three months of verifiable prior experience working in field nursery and field tree production handling both manual and machine tasks associated with field commodity production and harvest activities, including experience in hand-digging. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 80 lbs. Employer-paid post-hire drug testing required.