Farm Worker

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
cabbage, pumpkins, squash, sweet corn, grain corn, soybeans, broccoli, lettuce, Brussell sprouts.
This job requires a minimum of 3 months of verifiable prior experience working on a diversified crop farm handling both machine and manual tasks associated with commodity production and harvest activities. Workers must be able to safely perform all duties, manual as well as mechanized, with accuracy and efficiency. Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables and field crops, including but not limited to, cabbage, pumpkins, squash, sweet corn, grain corn, soybeans, broccoli, lettuce, and Brussell sprouts. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Duties include tilling soil, trimming cabbage, and applying fertilizers; transplanting, weeding, thinning, or pruning crops; applying pesticides; cleaning, packing, and loading harvested products. Construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, perform general farm area maintenance; paint farm equipment and property; pick rocks, clear hedgerows and ditches; keep rodents out of fields; participate in irrigation activities; set up and operate irrigation equipment; clear and maintain irrigation ditches; load trucks.

Operate tractors, tractor-drawn machinery, and self-propelled machinery to plow, harrow and fertilize soil, or to plant, cultivate, spray and harvest crops. Workers will be expected to be able to operate agricultural equipment with or without direction. Repair and maintain farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment. Harvest vegetables by hand. Apply pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers to crops. Inform farmers or farm managers of crop progress. Identify plants, pests, and weeds to determine the selection and application of pesticides and fertilizers.

Workers will perform work including but not limited to planting seed, rotating trays, loading out plants by hand, digging, mulching, transplanting, mowing, watering in nurseries and seasonal holding houses. Fertilize, prune, spray, space, tag and perform other plant maintenance through life cycle. Count and inventory plants. Propagate plants from cuttings. Remove plastic from seasonal holding houses in spring and cover seasonal holding houses with plastic in fall. Assist with building seasonal holding houses. Plants must be handled carefully so that minimal leaves, limbs and roots are broken during transplanting process.

Employer will furnish to workers, without cost, all tools and equipment required in the performance of the duties assigned. Workers should report for work with their own suitable work clothing. Field temperatures may range from -30 degrees to 90+ degrees F. and work will be done in the rain, snow, mud, wind and sun.

Work is to be done in the field for long periods of time. Workers are expected to perform duties including boxing, weighing and loading of product. Workers will assist in loading trucks with product weighing up to and including 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, honey bees, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or related chemicals may affect a worker's ability to perform the job. 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. Workers should be physically able to do the work required with or without reasonable accommodations. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 60 lbs.

Supervisor(s) will provide instructions and directions to workers. Workers must be able to comprehend and follow instructions and communicate effectively to supervisors. Unusual, complex or non-routine activities will be supervised.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of 3 months of verifiable prior experience working on a diversified crop farm handling both machine and manual tasks associated with commodity production and harvest activities. Workers must be able to safely perform all duties, manual as well as mechanized, with accuracy and efficiency. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 60 lbs.