Strawberry Planting, Harvesting, And Field Work

Job description

The worker will perform job duties as assigned by the supervisor. They will vary from time to time depending on crop ripening and weather. The strawberry harvesting is temporary and will last from September to March.

In order to perform this kind of work, the worker must be able to work outside for 6 hours a day in all kinds of weather and have the required physical strength and endurance to repeat the harvesting process rapidly and skillfully with their hands, and also carry a large number of containers and/or packing bags or boxes full of the crop from the area in which the crop is being harvested to the location of the loading truck. Workers will perform prolonged walking, bending, stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, lifting, and carrying 0-27 lbs.

Field Work-The worker will lay plastic, cut ditches, ride the plastic machine to collect and feed, walk behind the plastic machine and cut plastic to each ditch, tuck plastic, and pickup/burn trash, handle food safety-bucket, perform general cleaning, weeding, picking, planting, plastic repair, reset, complete weather related horticultural/cultivation tasks, clean beds, put down and maintain irrigation, and packing of fruit and vegetable crop.

The employer will provide the tools necessary to perform the described job duties without charge to the worker. The employer will charge the worker for reasonable costs related to the worker's refusal or negligent failure to return the tools or due to such workers willful damage or destruction of the tools.

Due to the nature of this type of work, there will be a Probationary Period of six (6) days beginning on the first day of employment for the employee to acclimate to the job specifications listed under the Job Descriptions and Requirements. The worker will be given specific instructions as to how to properly perform the work specified in the Job Description and Requirements Section on the first day of work. Workers who do not perform the work as specified may be terminated.

Planting of strawberry plants and row crops-The worker will go down the fields carrying trays of strawberry and other vegetable transplants and plant them individually in the prepared planting bed by bending down and planting the transplants in the ground. This process will be repeated until planting has been completed.

Strawberry Harvesting & Packing-In order to perform this kind of work, the worker must be able to walk down the field row pushing a harvesting cart that holds a harvesting box, bend down and look for the ripe strawberries. The worker will pick the ripe strawberries off the bush by grasping the stem between their forefinger and thumbnail, then lightly pulling and twisting at the same time and letting the berry roll into the palm of their hand being careful not to bruise them. The worker will then gently place the fruit in a container that sit in the harvesting box until it is full taking care not to overfill the container or over pack the berries. The full harvesting box will be taken to a loading truck. An empty box is given back to the worker and the process is
started again.

Zuchinni Hand Harvesting & Packing- In order to perform this kind of work, the worker must be able to walk down the field row carrying a harvesting box, bend down and look for the ripe zuchinni and cut the crop off the vine with a knife and place them in the harvesting box. The zuchinni may be bagged before being placed in the box. The worker then takes the full box of zuchinni to the loading truck. An empty box is given back to the worker and the process is started again.

Special Requirements

The worker must be responsible and consistent on the job. The worker must be able to lift 0-27 lbs. continuously throughout the day and work in all kinds of weather.