Farm Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
Vegetables/garden crops, including but not limited to herbs, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, peppers, green onions, zucchini, melons, and sweet corn..
Plants, cultivates, harvests and packs vegetables, including cantaloupes, cucumbers, eggplants, green beans, jalapeño peppers, chile peppers, bell peppers, pickling cucumbers, pumpkins, sweet corn, watermelons, winter squash, yellow squash and zucchini.Works on planter, plants roots, seeds and bulbs. May spread plastic or other groundcovering. Cultivates, hand weeds and thins plants. Transplants plants, riding on transplanter or by hand. May stake/tie plants, trellis/prune plants, and set poles and wires for vine plants. Picks, cuts, lifts, or pulls crop to harvest them.Work may include planting and cultivating. Assist with irrigation and fertilization.

Considerable stooping and kneeling is required. Care must be taken to prevent damaging produce and plants. May operate hand-operated equipment. May assist with general farm building maintenance. Employees will receive instruction from supervisor, and will be required to accurately and adequately select cull and premium produce, and distinguish size specifications. Workers must follow all food safety standards. Workers must be able to distinguish horticultural plants from weeds.

In addition, workers may be required to perform variable tasks such as the following: irrigation, ditching, shoveling, hoeing, hauling, ground preparation and other tasks related to general farming.

Work may also include mechanized field work using power equipment. By way of example and not limitation power equipment may include tractors, planters, sprayers, cultivators and other equipment. Workers will be expected to be able to operate/maintain agricultural equipment with or without direction.

Work is to be done for long periods of time. Workers are expected to perform duties including boxing, weighing and loading of product. Workers will assist in loading trucks with packaged product weighing up to and including 60 pounds and lifting to a height of 5 feet for long periods of time. 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.

Will be trained in USDA Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification standards. Failure to abide by GAP standards will be grounds for dismissal.

Workers failing to produce a sufficient number of piece rate units to earn the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for all hours worked during a pay period will be paid on an hourly basis at the AEWR for that pay period. Workers paid on an hourly basis who fail to perform their duties in a timely and proficient manner will be provided up to three warnings, and will be coached/instructed on working faster and more efficiently. Worker may be terminated upon issuance of third warning.

Employer may request, but not require, workers to work more than the stated daily hours and/or on a worker’s Sabbath or federal holidays. Workers will have an unpaid lunch break. Worker must report to work at designated time and place each day. Daily or weekly work schedule may vary due to weather, sunlight, temperature, crop conditions, and other factors. Employer will notify workers of any change to start time.

TERMINATION. All workers will be subject to a five-day trial period, during which the employer will evaluate workers' performance of required tasks.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of three months of prior agricultural field work experience handling both manual and machine tasks associated with commodity production and harvest activities. Workers must be able to perform manual as well as mechanized activities with accuracy and efficiency. Applicants must be able to furnish verbal or written statement establishing relevant prior work experience. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 60 lbs.