Nursery Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
nursery stock, including bedding plants, trees, and shrubs.
This job requires a minimum of 3 months of verifiable agricultural experience work in a greenhouse or nursery handling manual tasks including agricultural field work associated with production of nursery stock, including bedding plants, trees and shrubs. Applicants must be able to furnish verifiable job reference(s) or comparable third party documentation from recent employer(s) establishing acceptable prior experience. Workers must be able to perform manual tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Prepare fields/soil for planting. Remove cull stock, debris, tree stumps, brush, ferns, vines and other growth from planting area using tractor, mattocks, brush hooks and/or axes. Plant, cultivate and maintain nursery stock and/or bedding plants in condition for shipping and sale to customers. Pot seedlings or ‘liners’ by hand or mechanical planter. Propagate plants from cuttings. Perform general plant maintenance. Prune, trim, space, transplant and cull plants to ensure availability of marketable products. Irrigate and apply fertilizer. Pack, label, tag, pull, and store plants by variety. Count, grade, and inventory plants. Prepare plants for digging by tying or wrapping as necessary. Dig plants. Drum lacing and quarter lacing. Wrap burlap or other covering around root balls and secure with twine and/or staples. Crimp wire baskets. Must understand nursery quality control standards and have working knowledge of production procedures. Must harvest crops according to specific standards. Must select and harvest crops pursuant to customer needs.

Mow, cut, and weed fields. Perform ditching, shoveling, hoeing, hauling, ground preparation, and other manual tasks. Bending, stooping and kneeling required. Use hand tools including but not limited to hoes, shovels, shears, clippers, loppers, and saws. Lift, carry, and load/unload products or supplies. Clear debris from field and clean/maintain farm buildings, structures, equipment, and work areas. Assist with farm building/field maintenance and repairs. Build/repair fences.

Work is done in the field for long periods of time. Workers may assist in handling product weighing up to 60 pounds and lifting to a height of 5 feet. Workers must work on their feet in bent positions for long periods of time. Work requires repetitive movements and extensive walking.

Work required in fields when plants are wet with dew and rain, and may be required during light rain, snow, moderate winds, direct sun, high humidity and extreme temperatures. Temperatures in fields during working hours can range from 10 to over 100 degrees F. Workers may be required to work during occasional showers not severe enough to stop field operations.

Allergies to ragweed, goldenrod, honey bees, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or related chemicals may affect a worker’s ability to perform the job.

Workers should be able to do the work required with or without reasonable accommodations.

Employer requires all newly hired employees to take and pass an employer-paid background check. All background checks are conducted uniformly after an initial job offer has been extended and accepted by the new hire. Applicants found to have felony convictions (including, but not limited to assault, child molestation, sex or drug-related convictions) will be immediately terminated out of concern for general public safety, and paid for all hours worked between the first date of employment and the date of termination, if any. In the case of a foreign worker who is terminated for cause resulting from findings of the background check, the employer will arrange least-cost transportation to the worker's place of recruitment, at the worker's expense.

Persons seeking employment in this position must be available for the entire period requested by the employer.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of 3 months of verifiable agricultural experience work in a greenhouse or nursery handling manual tasks including agricultural field work associated with production of nursery stock, including bedding plants, trees and shrubs. Applicants must be able to furnish verifiable job reference(s) or comparable third party documentation from recent employer(s) establishing acceptable prior experience. Workers must be able to perform manual tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 60 lbs. Criminal background check required.