Farm Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
blueberries, wine grapes, watermelon, squash, mint, apples, hops, organic sweet corn.
Apples:
Apple Orchard Herbicide Application:
Following direction of spray supervisor, and depending on weather, determine spray job to be performed. Fill tanks with appropriate mixture of herbicide, based on recommendation provided. Ensure tractor and sprayer are clean and appropriately maintained, including greased and oiled. Apply herbicide to trees by operating tractor and spray implement. Perform maintenance and repair as needed, with the guidance of supervision.

Apple Orchard Pesticide Application:
Following direction of spray supervisor, and depending on weather, determine spray job to be performed. Fill tanks with appropriate mixture of herbicide, based on recommendation provided. Ensure tractor and sprayer are clean and appropriately maintained, including greased and oiled. Apply herbicide to trees by operating tractor and spray implement. Perform maintenance and repair as needed, with the guidance of supervision.

Apple Planting/Replanting:
Plant new and replacement trees by hand or using planter.
Stomp in and correct height of scion and soil, as indicated by supervisor.
Use tractor to deliver and shuttle trees to planters.

Apple Thinning:
Separate apples to doubles/singles, per supervisor direction. Work may be repeated throughout the season.

Mature Apple Training &Tying:
Trimming side limbs off or heading the tree right after planting (depends on grower desire)
Staking tree or securing it to trellis wire (once trellis is in)

Apple Hand Pruning:
Use lopper or shear to prune trees by tipping or removing limbs, per supervisor’s direction.
Prune shoots using shears in order to allow sunlight penetration, per supervisor’s direction.

Apple Hand Cultivation:
Pull, cut, hoe weeds in orchard blocks, taking care not to damage trees.
May be required to maneuver tree guards to remove plant material.
Spread and remove ground covers when needed.

Apple Training & Tying 1st-3rd Years
Trimming side limbs off or heading the tree right after planting (depends on grower desire)
Staking tree or securing it to trellis wire (once trellis is in)

Apple Trellis Construction:
Hoop trellis construction
Move and position all ground stakes and use post pounder to sink stakes.
Erect steel side posts and hoop tops under instruction of supervision, securing with screws.
Auger holes for anchors and deadman anchors
Anchors:
Dig hole for anchor placement using shovel.
Position anchor posts.
Bolt cross bars to posts.
Stand up anchors within the hole.
Fill hole to secure anchor.
Deadman
Dig hole for deadman placement.
Position steel pieces into hole.
Fill hole with cement to secure steel.
Cover holes with dirt.
Use tractor, forklift, bobcat, backhoe to move and assist with placement of trellis supplies.

Additional Apple Trellis Construction Tasks:
Cable installation from anchor posts to deadman
Pulling wire and securing to trellis posts by using clips and anchors 1st-3rd plantings
Cross bar installation on 2nd-3rd year plantings.

Apple Fire Blight Removal:
Remove fire blight limbs or trees using pruner. Remove limbs and trees from field and burn.

Apple Harvest:
Spot and/or strip pick apples based on seasonal need.
Snap fruit off tree with thumb and palm of hand to avoid stem pulls, punctures, bruising, or other damage.
Pick culls and peelers out of bins. Fill fruit buckets and place fruit in bins. Follow supervisor/foreman's instructions on color/size requirements.
Must be able to differentiate between colors and fruit varieties accurately.
Operate bin trailers to swap full and empty bins in and out of field. Operate Hyster forklift to move full/empty bins for incoming/outgoing trucks.
Document bins picked and report quality of apples picked to supervisor.

Special Requirements

Jobs are offered working in vineyards, blueberries or hops, handling manual and mechanized tasks associated with commodity production. Workers must be able to perform manual and mechanized tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 60 lbs.