Farm Worker

Job description

This job requires working with cherries, watermelons, onions, corn, and apples, apricots, mint and hops. Corn and Onion: Care for row crops according to instructions of supervisor. Exercise care to prevent bruising or breaking of row crop.

Weeding: Utilizing a hoe to clean weeds around and between onions. Farm clean up tasks to include picking up garbage around the fields, and other hand tasks. Hand tools, such as pruning hooks, shears, and/or picking bags will be utilized. Harvest preparation including spreading liners in bins, rolling bins into blocks by hand. Load and unload empty bins by hand and place in field.

Corn Detassling: The Worker will need to pull the tassel off the corn. The worker must possess the ability to walk for long periods at a time. place them into provided bins between windrows. Harvesters are encouraged to work in pairs during this process. Watermelon Planting and Harvest Watermelon planting: Employees will be planting watermelon seedlings in rows. Job requires constant bending, stooping,
kneeling, walking, and lifting. Employees may be required to work in harsh weather conditions and possibly on or around machinery, such as tractors or trucks. Watermelon Harvesting Watermelon LOADING: Workers will load Watermelons from the ground onto conveyor belts and bins, taking care to not damage the fruit. Some workers will walk behind the conveyor belt arm of a bulk loader and place the watermelons on the belt. Some workers will work on the Watermelon loader itself and take the watermelons from the conveyor belt and place them into bins. Workers will lift, carry, and load watermelons onto conveyor or trucks. Considerable stooping and kneeling is required. Care must be taken to prevent damaging produce and plants. Field work begins at assigned time shortly after daylight. Work may be performed during light rain and in high humidity and in temperatures up to 110 degrees F. Worker may be required to work in field when plants are wet with dew/rain and should have suitable clothing for variable weather conditions. Work is to be done for long periods of time. Workers are expected to perform duties including loading of product. Workers will assist in loading trucks with watermelons up to 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 should be physically able to do the work required with or without reasonable accommodations. Saturday work is required. Workers must possess requisite physical strength and endurance to repeat the harvest process throughout the workday. Harvest Support: The worker will assist with general farm labor. The worker must possess the ability to stand, sit, and walk for long periods. The worker may need to inspect and maintain fields. The worker will safely and responsibly use any hand tools to assist with the crop harvest. Cherry Harvest: The Worker will hand harvest cherries; this can be performed from a motorized platform and/or from the ground or a ladder. The Worker will attach harness, bucket or bag and pick low hanging fruit while standing or on a ladder. The Worker will pick according to grade, color and size by grasping fruit with the hands and removing from the tree in a motion so as not to harm adjacent buds on the tree branches. The Worker will carry harness, bucket or bag of up to 20 lbs. and will place fruit into plastic lugs or bins which hold approximately 30 pounds of fruit. Care must be exercised at all times to prevent bruising of fruit or breaking of branches. Some Workers may be required to examine harvested fruit in plastic/wooden bins and sort out any fruit not meeting the grade, color and size specifications.

Special Requirements

Three months of general agriculture experience. There are general conditions of employment, general job specifications and individual requirements that are specific to each job duty.

This type of work involves working conditions that require tremendous stamina, a high level of physical activity in cold or extremely hot conditions in direct sunlight and in adverse weather such as rain. The work requires a high level of physical conditioning. Workers may be subject to mandatory drug testing if they have been involved in a reportable accident or upon reasonable suspicion that drug use may be impacting job performance. Any drug test will be conducted at the employer's expense. All drug testing will be conducted post-hire.