General Farm/irrigation Worker
Employer
422 East Bench Road
Twin Bridges , MT 59754
United States
Job description
Worker will be required to perform a variety of duties related to the production of seed potatoes. The majority of the work activities during the overall contract period, however, will be related to general farm work/irrigation/crop production.
General Farm Work will include the following responsibilities: maintain, drive, attach, and operate farm implements/tractors/equipment to till soil, plant, cultivate, fertilize, and harvest crops; make minor mechanical adjustments and repairs on farm machinery; may mix and/or spray chemicals (according to appropriate restrictive use laws, when/if applicable); remove undesirable and excess growth from crops or farm grounds; remove rocks from field; paint/repair/maintain farm structures; replace/repair fencing; perform general cleanup of farm areas; drive, load/unload trucks; operate vehicle, motor bike, or all-terrain vehicle in the course of performing duties; clean/disinfect equipment and storage facilities; place flags in fields to indicate each unit (family) of potatoes; rouge potatoes, operate equipment to load pallets and move in/out of storage; ride on planter to ensure proper placement of seed and open bags; plant tissue culture plants by hand and cover with hot caps.
Irrigation duties will include the following:
Hand lines: connect pipes; check alignment of pipe and adjust for proper water distribution; attach lines to water supply; turn on pump; turn valves to start flow of water; disassemble lines and carry pipes across fields at specified intervals; move pipes through freshly irrigated crops and/or plowed fields where mud may be deep at times; lift and carry pipe sections weighing approximately 40 pounds on a sustained basis.
Wheel lines: start gasoline engines and operate controls to move lines across fields at specified intervals.
Pivots: operate, maintain and repair system.
Other Irrigation Duties: remove pipes/wheel lines from storage and lay out/place in predetermined patterns in fields; lubricate, adjust, repair, and replace parts such as sprinkler heads and drive chains using hand tools; observe revolving sprinklers and adjust to ensure proper operation and uniform distribution of water; disassemble, service, and store pipes/mainlines/wheel lines after irrigation season.
Duties related to the Cutting/Sorting of Seed Potatoes will include the following:
Will apply techniques as instructed by the employer to cut and sort potatoes by: using knife to cut potato into sections; place potatoes on machine that cuts potatoes into sections; push button to start machinery; tend/monitor machine to insure proper movement of product; discard diseased/rotting/inferior product and foreign matter; report malfunctions; general cleanup.
Duties related to the Packing of Produce will include the following:
Will apply techniques as instructed by the employer to: sort seed according to grade, color and size; discard diseased/rotting/inferior product and foreign matter; cleanup around conveyors and worksite; place produce in containers or on designated conveyors; fill and weigh seed into boxes, bags, and totes.
Duties related to the Harvesting of Potatoes will include the following:
Will apply techniques as instructed by the employer to: remove rocks from rows in front of harvesting equipment; discard diseased/rotting product, rocks and foreign matter; alert equipment operator of equipment clogging/malfunctions; aid operator in correct machine performance; harvest individual plants by hand and place each plant in a 5 to 10 pound mesh bag; fill buckets with tubers; dump buckets into crates; load crates onto trailer.
Special Requirements
Applicants must have 20 days experience with farm/irrigation work and provide the contact information of at least one reference who can verify experience and performance. Applicants hired must be able to obtain a valid drivers license as driving on public roads may be required. To meet minimum acceptable performance standards when irrigating, the worker must, after a 10 day conditioning period, move an average of at least 48 40-foot sections of 3-inch pipe or 44 40-foot sections of 4-inch pipe per hour under normal working conditions.