Blackberry Harvesting, Packing, And Field Work

Job description

The worker will perform job duties as assigned by the supervisor. They will vary from time to time depending on crop ripening and weather. The blackberry harvesting is temporary and will last from June to August.

In order to perform this kind of work, the worker must be able to work outside for 6 hours a day in all kinds of weather and have the required physical strength and endurance to repeat the harvesting process rapidly and skillfully with their hands, and also carry a large number of containers and/or packing bags or boxes full of the crop from the area in which the crop is being harvested to the location of the loading truck. Workers will perform prolonged walking, bending, stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, lifting, and carrying 0-27 lbs.

Blackberry and Raspberry Harvesting & Packing-In order to perform this kind of work, the worker must be able to walk down the field row carrying a harvesting rack strapped to their waist that holds a flat(s) with clam shells. The worker must check the bush and look for the ripe berries. The worker will pick the ripe berries off the bush by grasping the berries between the forefinger and thumbnail, then lightly pulling and twisting at the same time and letting the berry roll into the palm of their hand being careful not to bruise them. The worker will then gently place the fruit in a clamshells that sit in the flat that is being held up by the harvesting rack until it is full taking care not to overfill the container or over pack the berries. The full flat will be taken to a loading truck where quality control workers will inspect the flats to make sure the berries have been picked to specification and not over packed in the clam shells. An empty flat with clam shells is given back to the worker and the process is started again.

Field Work-The worker will lay ground cloth or mulch, cut ditches, and pickup/burn trash, perform general cleaning, weeding, picking, planting, complete weather related horticultural/cultivation tasks, prune blackberries bushes, put down and maintain irrigation, and packing of blackberries.

The employer will provide the tools necessary to perform the described job duties without charge to the worker. The employer will charge the worker for reasonable costs related to the worker's refusal or negligent failure to return the tools or due to such workers willful damage or destruction of the tools.

Due to the nature of this type of work, there will be a Probationary Period of six (6) days beginning on the first day of employment for the employee to acclimate to the job specifications listed under the Job Descriptions and Requirements. The worker will be given specific instructions as to how to properly perform the work specified in the Job Description and Requirements Section on the first day of work. Workers who do not perform the work as specified may be terminated.

Field Drivers-The field drivers will drive the farm vehicles out to the field where the field workers who are harvesting the blackberries are and will load them onto the vehicles/trailers until they are full. They will then drive the fully loaded vehicles back to the packing shed. The process is then repeated again.

Special Requirements

The worker must be responsible and consistent on the job. The worker must be able to lift 0-27 lbs. continuously
throughout the day and work in all kinds of weather.