Farmworkers And Laborers

Job description

The job requires a minimum of three months experience in tasks associated with farm experience.

The job requires extensive standing and walking. Workers are frequently required to use their hands and arms to handle, feel, reach, climb or balance. Workers are occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl under trellis wires. Workers must be able to lift/carry up to 60 lbs. throughout the course of the day.

Thinning: Thinning is a manual process used as part of orchard maintenance to control the size and quality of grown fruit. All workers will be provided appropriate training to supervisors to ensure proper techniques for thinning are utilized. Workers must have the ability to pick up, use and safety handle a 16-foot orchard ladder weighing approximately 40 pounds to perform thinning tasks. Thinning requires the worker to remove, in some cases but not limited to, the smallest fruit from within a cluster of other fruits. Workers will be expected to be able to identify and remove fruit that is misshapen, damaged and/or with other quality problems as directed by supervisors.

Pruning: Workers may be required to prune numerous varieties of apple trees according to established company procedures based on the difference in the treatment of different varieties. Workers are required to possess or acquire pruning skills in order to be able to correctly identify and remove branches which rub against each other, downward-growing branches, shaded interior branches, stubs or broken branches, dead wood and shoots/suckers and selectively remove diseased limbs and branches due to fire blight and/or bacterial canker with hand pruning saws and clippers, and pole pruners. Such pruning may occasionally require workers to use chain saws or other mechanized equipment.

While pruning, workers will be required to perform work for long periods of time using a variety of pruning equipment, including hand shears, hand loppers, hand saws and 16-foot ladders. Workers pruning apple trees may be required to selectively prune only trees of a certain size as instructed by the supervisor.

Apple Harvest: Quality is essential to the apple harvest. Many different varieties of apples will be picked according to established company procedures based on the end use (spot picking for fresh, small percentage of culls for processing). To ensure quality, workers must be able to differentiate between colors accurately in order to perform color-specific picking. Workers must also be able to carry and pick from 16-foot ladder and be able to carry up to 60 pounds.

Sweet Cherry Harvest: Worker will hand harvest cherries to quality standards. Worker will use picking buckets and ladder up to 16 feet in height to harvest numerous varieties of cherries according to established company procedures accounting for difference in the treatment of different varieties. Worker will be required to selectively pick only fruit of a certain color and/or size as instructed by the supervisor. Worker will be required to handle fruit carefully and not bruise or damage fruit when placed in bucket and lug. Worker will attach picking bucket around shoulders, and pick fruit while standing on the ground and higher branches while standing on a ladder. Worker will carry bucket of up to 20 pounds and will place fruit into plastic lugs. Worker must be able to pick and dump fruit without stem pulls, punctures, bruising or other damage which diminishes quality. Worker must exercise care at all times to prevent bruising of fruit or breaking of branches.

Equipment Operator: Worker will safely operate tractor and other farm vehicles as directed.

Quality Checker: Worker may be asked to sort harvested cherries and apples for quality standards and report issues to worker supervisor.

Special Requirements

D & K Harvesting is a drug-free workplace: The employer may conduct a drug/alcohol test post-employment at the employer's expense. Failure to pass the drug/alcohol screening is grounds for termination.