Orchard Worker Ii
Employer
10273 Lummisville Rd.
Wolcott, NY 14590
United States
Job description
Crops/Commodities:
Apples.
Apples: Workers will manually plant and cultivate apples; use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears and knives. Duties include tilling soil, transplanting, weeding, thinning or pruning; applying fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.
Identify plants, pests and weeds to determine the selection and application of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Inform farm managers of crop progress. Clear and maintain irrigation ditches. Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields or costs.
Prune trees seasonally to promote optimum growth of tree and fruit. Gather pruned branches from area for disposal. Perform pruning and suckering by cutting terminal growth and water sprouts from inside of tree using hand pruner. Thins trees from orchard to eliminate diseased or nonproductive trees using chain saw. Drive/operate utility vehicles and row crop tractors.
Machine Operation: Under direction of management, workers will operate farm equipment to till soil and to plant, cultivate, spray and aid in the production and harvest of apples.. Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify management when machinery malfunctions.
Workers will make sure bins are clean and free of debris before placing harvested apples into the bins. Workers will load the bins onto the rail using a tractor. Worker places ladder firmly against or within tree in a secure position so as not to break limbs or knock off fruit and to prevent slipping or falling. All fruit is to be handled with care to avoid bruising. Fruit injured by bruising during picking shall not exceed 1% (WNY) for fresh and 1% (WNY) for processing. Each worker's picked fruit will be inspected according to instructions given each day by the orchard foreman. Workers will be directed to strip all fruit from tree at one picking or to spot pick (selective picking) according to size and color depending on crop conditions and state of maturity. Fruit picked as drops is never mixed with tree fruit. Worker places ladder firmly against or within tree in a secure position so as not to break limbs or knock off fruit and to prevent slipping or falling.
Workers may be asked to perform nursery work which will include budding, care of nursery trees, grafting and weeding as directed by management. Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions. Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps. Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders into sprayer machinery. Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, trailers, and irrigation equipment. Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery. Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools. Use machinery to mow grass, cut brush, plant young trees, spray fruit trees, apply soil amendments, install trellis systems and perform other equipment related activities involved in tree fruit/. Operate tractors and trucks on farm property to move equipment and supplies such as irrigation pipes, chemicals, fertilizers, herbicides, ladders, bins and harvest supplies.
Workers may help with the pruning, thinning, and other manual labor duties, as directed by management.
Workers will be expected to be able to operate farm 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. Designated workers may be responsible for acting as a liaison between the crew and the crew manager to communicate progress of production tasks and communicate work completed for the day.
Special Requirements
This job requires a minimum of three months of verifiable prior experience working in tree fruit or vegetable crops, handling both manual and machine tasks associated with commodity production and harvest activities. Applicants must be able to furnish verifiable job reference(s) or comparable third party documentation from recent employer(s) establishing acceptable prior experience Workers must be able to perform manual as well as mechanized activities with accuracy and efficiency. Saturday work required. Must be able to lift/carry 60 lbs. Employer reserves the right to post-hire, employer-paid drug testing after an employee has an accident at work.