Farm Laborer

Job description

The farm work position includes duties associated with the cultivation, harvesting and housing of tobacco; farm, field and tobacco barn maintenance, sanitation, and post-harvest cleanup as well as duties related to the maintenance of fields which will include ditching, weeding, and straightening of tobacco stalks. This work can require standing, walking, stooping, bending, and lifting up to 50 pounds for long periods of time outdoors in all weather conditions. This work requires adherence to important food safety and quality standard operating procedures and the ability to work quickly and consistently alongside fellow workers with a positive, professional, team-based attitude and a consideration for the safety and health of fellow workers and of the consumers.

FIELD WORK: Workers will be required to maintain field sanitation following all Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). Workers will keep fields free of grass and weeds by hoeing or chopping with machetes. Workers are to dispose of all trash in designated bins and not to be thrown in field or field borders. Workers will be given instructions and a demonstration on proper pruning by breaking the flowers and suckers of the tobacco plant by hand at the proper height. Workers will be required to dig and maintain drainage ditches in the field.

TOBACCO: Farm work primarily includes the transplanting, planting, cultivating, harvesting, loading, and unloading of tobacco; the pruning and upkeep of tobacco that includes topping and suckering; deploying, maintaining, and repairing field irrigation components; general field and crop care; and farm, field and tobacco barn sanitation and maintenance. Workers will transplant directly from greenhouse to the fields and assist to cultivate fields, prepare rows for planting, plant, fertilize crop, and maintain drainage ditches. Workers may ride on mechanical setter or follow behind to aid in setting. of the crop. Workers will keep fields free of grass and weeds by hoeing. Workers will be given instructions and a demonstration on proper pruning by breaking the suckers by hand at the proper height.
HAND HARVEST: Workers will move into a row of mature tobacco plants. The tobacco plant may be from 4 to 6 feet tall and spaced about 20 inches apart in each row. Starting at the bottom of the plant, the worker will bend over at the waist and pick the bottom two or three leaves from each plant. Staying bent over, the worker will move down the row of mature tobacco repeating the above process. The bottom leaves may be as low as two inches from the ground. The worker will place the picked leaves under his arm. Once the worker has gathered an armload of leaves, he will carry it to a field sled. The leaves must be thrown into a trailer. The worker will then return to the row and repeat the process. All workers must be able to distinguish ripe tobacco by observing the color of the leaves. Care must be exercised to prevent breaking of the plants. Workers must be able to move quickly along the rows and move in unison with the field sleds. Workers will follow all GAP requirements.

MACHINE HARVEST: Workers may be required to run a Tobacco Combine if properly trained to aide in harvesting of tobacco. The worker will have to monitor moving parts for proper operation and may need to be able to fix when properly trained. Other workers may be required to ride or walk behind machine to pick up leaves that have broken off and aide in the filling of buses at the field. The field worker will also be required to pitchfork tobacco to aide in leveling the transport of green tobacco to the curing barns. They will also be required to pull a cover over the tobacco trailer to keep the tobacco on the bus for transport. This requires good foot placement due to the tobacco having hard and soft spots while walking across it while pulling the cover. Workers will follow all GAP requirements.