Farm Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
hops and hemp.
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. Use power equipment including but not limited to: tractors, planters, mowers, plows, sprayers, cultivators, power shears, chain saws, high lifts, fork lifts, skid loaders. Must operate agricultural equipment safely, with or without direction. 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.

Machine Operation: Drive/operate utility vehicles and row crop tractors. Mow/rake hop bines. Operate combines, pickers and/or dryers. Remove stems and other foreign material from clean hops, emptying and resetting kiln, sweeping and general cleanup of kiln. Perform trellis maintenance including removal of broken or damage poles, installation of new poles, cleaning and tightening of trellis cable and replacement or installation of anchors. Manually remove drip tubing from hop plants and place at center of the hill to avoid damage. Roll, tie, and install tube with utility vehicle and tubing roller. Re-tie broken tubes to nearest string. Excess or repeated damage to drip tubes may result in suspension or discharge. Manually train (wrap) hop bines on string. Training hops will require special care not to damage bine. Pick up bines and hop clusters from ground behind combine and put into truck. Cut bale cloth with hot knife. Bale and sew hop bales. Stencil hop bales. Clean and sweep baler floor. Mix hops with pitchfork and push hops to pit. Track harvest information on sheet.

Perform tasks involved with planting, cultivating, harvesting, drying, and handling industrial hemp.

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 30 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 with a clean driving record (no major moving violations such as but not limited to Driving While Intoxicated or Reckless Driving) and able to obtain an insurable driver's license may be required to drive company vehicles. Workers with appropriate licenses and a valid doctor's certificate may be asked to drive other workers.

Employer requires all newly-hired employees to take and pass an employer-paid drug test before starting work. Drug test not required for prospective applicants prior to hiring decision. All testing is conducted uniformly after an initial job offer has been extended and accepted by the new hire. Workers testing positive will be immediately terminated and paid for all hours worked between the first date of employment and the date of termination, if any. In the case of a non-local or foreign worker who is terminated for failure to pass a drug test, the employer will arrange least-cost transportation to the worker's place of recruitment, at the worker's expense. The employer will also test at random, upon reasonable suspicion of use, and after a worker has an accident at work.

Supervisor(s) will provide instructions and directions to workers.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of 3 months of agricultural experience handling manual and mechanized tasks including operating agricultural equipment. Applicants must be able to furnish verbal or written statement establishing relevant prior work experience. Workers must be able to perform mechanized tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Saturday work required. Sunday work may be offered but not required. Must be able to lift/carry 60 lbs. Employer-paid post-hire drug testing required.