Farmworker/laborer

Job description

GENERAL FARM LABOR:
Worker will manually plant, cultivate, and harvest Employer grown fruits and vegetables and in connection to crop production perform duties such as: tilling soil, transplanting, weeding, thinning, pruning crops, applying fertilizers/pesticides, irrigation activities, use of hand tools and power tools, operating farm machinery and equipment, other mechanized equipment, driving farm vehicles, cleaning, grading, sorting, packing, loading, general repairs and maintenance. Employer provides worker with the necessary tools, equipment, machinery, and vehicles. Employer provides workers with the appropriate training, instructions, and general oversight. Workers must comply with all safety, security, and quality practices and policies of Employer for all job duties.

FIELD SET-UP / PLANTING / TRANSPLANTING:
Worker with assistance from coworker(s) will be required to help lay plastic and lift plastic mulch rolls weighing 90 lbs. Worker will poke holes in plastic mulch for transplanting and plant transplant into soil through hole in plastic mulch by hand or using planting shovel. Worker will be required to help in other field set up tasks including low tunnel set up and trickle-irrigation set-up. Worker will assist Employer in repairing drain tile with mechanical or hand equipment, including digging of drain tile.

WEED / BRUSH / TREE REMOVAL:
Worker will be required to hoe or pull weeds / brush by hand as directed by Employer or Team Leader. Worker will operate mower or other mechanized equipment and machinery to prevent and control weeds / brush. Worker will perform tasks associated with the removal process of clearing trees from field or orchard. Manual and/or heavy machinery may be used.

STAKING AND TYING:
Workers will stake tomatoes with 24 -60 inch tomato stake that worker will pound into ground with stake pounder or 96 inch stake using water jet to make holes for stakes. Worker will apply tomato twine between tomato stakes at spacing interval designated by Employer or Team Leader. Worker will sprout young shoots as needed for optimum plant potential. Workers will thin tomatoes as needed for optimum plant potential.

FIELD CLEAN-UP:
Worker will complete other farm clean up tasks including picking up garbage, rocks, roots, and brush around the orchard and fruit/vegetable fields, removing old string and wire from trellis and orchard blocks, field and plastic mulch clean-up as directed by Employer or Team Leader, and other hand tasks. Worker will remove plastic mulch and drip tape from field by pulling out of dirt, picking up plastic mulch and drip tape, and moving both to driveways or end of field as instructed. Worker will pick up string and deposit into approved bulk boxes or containers. Workers will remove stakes by pulling them out of field and stacking tasks for off season storage. Workers will engage in land, water and other cultural management as directed by Employer or Team Leader.

THINNING:
Thinning is a manual process used to control the size and quality of grown fruit. Worker must possess ability to pick up, handle a 5-16 foot orchard ladder weighing 50 pounds. Worker will be required to take caution and safely use ladder during thinning as specified in employer ladder training. Worker will remove the smallest fruit blossom, bud and/or identifiable fruit from within a cluster of other fruits.
Worker will be expected to be able to identify and remove fruit that is misshapen, damaged and/or with other quality problems as directed by Employer or Team Leaders.

Special Requirements

JOB REQUIRES WORKER TO COMPLETE TASKS IN:
Blueberries - Cucumbers - Roma Tomatoes - Grape Tomatoes - Round Tomatoes - Apples.

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT:
90 verifiable days of agricultural experience on a commercial farm operation in fruit or vegetable harvest / production required. Applicants must furnish verifiable job references from recent employers within the last 5 years establishing acceptable prior experience.

Drug testing not utilized as pre-employment tool. See work rule #4 for more information regarding post-employment drug testing