Agricultural Equipment Operator

Job description

Crops/Commodities:
Watermelons, potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, collard greens.
This job requires a minimum of 12 months of verifiable prior experience performing duties associated with operating and performing routine maintenance on GPS equipped potato farming equipment and/or 12 months of verifiable experience repairing and maintaining electrical systems and hardware of pivots, and/or 12 months of verifiable prior welding and fabricating experience using welding equipment, including but not limited to MIG welders, stick welders, plasma cutters, oxygen/acetylene torches, angle grinders, drill press, & pneumatic air tools. Applicants must be able to furnish verifiable job reference(s) or comparable third party documentation from recent employer(s) establishing acceptable prior experience.

Driving tractors, sprayers and planters, will plant, spray, cultivate, and harvest watermelons, potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach and collard greens. Workers will drive and operate one or more GPS equipped farm machines, such as tractors, sprayers, Bottom Switch plows, Grimme planters, Windrowers, line equipment with holding tanks, dry brushers, grading tables, harvesters, pumps, tilling equipment, holding tanks, case-loaders, pivots, pilers, windrowers, Dammer Dykes (cultivators) and other mechanized, electrically powered or motor-driven equipment, on farms or in farm equipment repair shops. Workers will operate the farm machinery, equipment and vehicles. Workers will be instructed in the safety and operation of the equipment before driving the equipment. Workers will be expected to be able to operate equipment, with or without direction, in a manner that protects the operator, visitors, other employees, crops, trees, facilities and equipment. Failure to comply with operating and safety standards may result in termination. This is a very demanding and competitive business in which quality specifications must be rigorously adhered to. The equipment workers will be operating and maintaining is expensive and dangerous. Workers are expected to follow the employer's requests to not only prevent damage to the equipment, but to also prevent injuries to workers. Any equipment damaged by a worker's failure to follow instructions or damaged due to malice will be charged to the worker.

Workers may hitch soil conditioning implements, such as plow or harrow to tractor, and operate tractor and towed implement to furrow and grade soil. Workers will drive tractors and operate designated towed machines, such as hole punching tool for digging holes for watermelon plantrs, and such as drill or manure spreader, to plant, fertilize, dust and spray crops. Prepares harvesting machine by adjusting speeds of cutters, blowers and conveyors and height of cutting head or depth of digging blades according to type, height, weight and condition of crop being harvested, and contour of terrain. Attaches towed or mounted-type harvesting machine to tractor using hand tools or drives self-propelled harvesting machine to cut, pull up, dig, thresh, clean, chop, bag or bundle crops.

Workers will perform irrigation activities, including setting up and moving irrigation pipes and equipment.

Workers who perform spraying must complete all Worker Protection Standard training necessary to comply with national regulations regarding the safe application of pesticides. After completion of the WPS training, or under the supervision of a certified pesticide applicator, workers will mix and apply pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers or other crop enhancing/protecting sprays as deemed necessary by management.

While the workers main duties are associated with operation of the growing equipment, workers will also be required to perform routine maintenance on the equipment, as well.

Special Requirements

This job requires a minimum of 12 months of verifiable prior experience performing duties associated with operating and performing routine maintenance on GPS equipped potato farming equipment and/or 12 months of verifiable experience repairing and maintaining electrical systems and hardware of pivots, and/or 12 months of verifiable prior welding and fabricating experience using welding equipment, including but not limited to MIG welders, stick welders, plasma cutters, oxygen/acetylene torches, angle grinders, drill press, & pneumatic air tools. Applicants must be able to furnish verifiable job reference(s) or comparable third party documentation from recent employer(s) establishing acceptable prior experience. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 60 lbs. Employer-paid post-hire drug testing is required upon reasonable suspicion of use and after a worker has an accident at work. Must be willing to work 1st, 2nd or 3rd shift hours.