Farm/irrigation Worker

Job description

Worker will be required to perform a variety of duties related to the planting and production of onions, potatoes, alfalfa, watermelon, pumpkins, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The majority of the work activities during the overall contract period, however, will be related to general farm work/irrigation/crop production.
General Farm Work will include the following responsibilities: operate fork lift; remove undesirable and excess growth from crops or farm grounds; perform general cleanup of farm areas; drive, load/unload trucks; harvest crops; lift/load/unload/move hay bales from field to trucks to storage; prepare fields and plant/spray/weed and irrigate plants; transplant plants from containers into fields; may mix and/or spray chemicals such as herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides (according to appropriate restrictive us laws, when/if applicable) to control diseases and insects; loading planter with seeds and plants.
Irrigation duties will include the following: turn valves to start flow of water; lift gate in side of flooded irrigation ditch/pipe permitting water to flow into bordered section of field; shovel and pack dirt in low spots of embankment or cut trenches in high areas to direct water flow; close gate in ditch/pipe when bordered section is flooded; siphon water from flooded reservoir or ditch to channel water into designated areas; shovel or hoe soil to clear ditches/furrows and build embankments to appropriately channel water; remove irrigation equipment from storage and lay out/place in predetermined patterns in fields; install drip tape and set up drip irrigation system.
Duties related to the cutting/sorting of seed potatoes and planting and harvesting of other crops will include the following: place potatoes on machine that cuts potatoes into sections; push button to start machinery; tend/monitor machine to insure proper movement of product; discard diseased/rotting/inferior product and foreign matter; report malfunctions; general cleanup; bag potatoes; sort seed according to grade, color and size; discard diseased/rotting/inferior product and foreign matter; cleanup around conveyors and worksite; place produce in containers or on designated conveyors; aid operator in correct machine performance; pick, count and sort for size, shape, and quality of produce; load/unload produce into boxes and onto trucks; unload produce trucks into wood crates.