Orchard Workers

Job description

Perform manual labor to harvest, grade, and pack peaches and apples. Perform ongoing orchard maintenance including pruning and thinning. Use hand tools such as clippers, shovels, trowels, hoes, rakes, tampers, pruning hooks, and shears. Workers will walk orchard carrying ladder from tree to tree to thin and prune. Workers will be assigned rows of trees and must prune and thin each tree as shown by the field supervisor. Limbs must not be torn from the tree, nor should limbs be completely stripped of leaves. In thinning, workers will pluck by hand as instructed. Proper spacing and selection of fruit is critical to maximize the tree's potential yield. Workers will hand harvest fruit by climbing ladder and picking all fruit of correct size, shape, color, and maturity as instructed and placing into sack. Dump sack into trailer that is moving through orchard along with workers during the harvesting process. Workers must harvest fruit of desired ripeness and use care when harvesting not to damage or bruise produce. Fruit must be handled carefully to avoid bruises or fingernail cuts. Workers may not leave any appropriate product on the tree during harvesting. Workers will grade, sort, or classify fruit by size, weight, color, or condition, discarding inferior or defective produce and/or foreign matter. Fruit will then be sent down the line and placed in a box. The box will be closed, stacked, and strapped onto a pallet. Operate a pallet jack to load pallets full of fruit into the cooler. Load unassembled boxes into machine and then remove boxes for packing. Lift and carry buckets to trees spreading fertilizer while keeping up with tractor pulling fertilizer trailer through orchard. Irrigation work including maintaining and cleaning clogged sprinkler heads. As minor activities: harvest and pack sweet corn, blackberries, strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, squash, okra, beans, and other various vegetables. Clean work areas and maintain grounds including weed and grass control. Workers must have a general understanding of how pruning affects competition with fruiting wood and how thinning is done to provide nutrition to the developing fruit. Improper pruning can cause problems with fruit load, fruit size, disease severity, and overall production. Workers who have a valid driver's license and doctor's certificate may drive vehicles to transport workers and may be offered additional hours. Assist with Good Agricultural Practices policies. Allergies to ragweed, goldenrod, honeybees, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or related chemicals may affect a worker's ability to perform the job. Persons seeking employment in this position must be available for the entire period requested by the employer. Employer reserves the right to discharge an obviously unqualified worker, malingerer or recalcitrant worker who is physically able but is unwilling to perform the work necessary for the employer to grow a premium quality product, or for any other lawful reason.

Employer may request, but not require, workers to work more than the stated daily hours and/or on a worker's Sabbath or federal holidays. Workers will have an unpaid lunch break. Worker must report to work at designated time and place each day. Daily or weekly work schedule may vary due to weather, sunlight, temperature, crop conditions, and other factors. Employer will notify workers of any change to start time.

TERMINATION. All workers will be subject to a 2 day introductory period, during which the employer will evaluate workers' performance of required tasks. Employer reserves the right to terminate a worker at the conclusion of the 2 day introductory period if the worker's performance fails to satisfy the employer's reasonable expectations, or is otherwise unacceptable.

Special Requirements

Three months of orchard work experience required. Work outside in inclement weather conditions including extremely hot (up to 100 degrees), cold and/or wet weather for extensive periods of time, perform prolonged walking, reaching, stooping, bending, kneeling, pushing, pulling, lifting and carrying up to 50 lbs and stacking 35 lb boxes over head, climb 8 ft ladders and reach over head for extended periods of time. Employer is a drug-free workplace. Drug testing is conducted post hire at the employer's expense and is not part of the interview process.