Field Worker

Job description

Field Workers: Brussel Sprout Harvest, Intensive Bed Cleaning, and Strawberry Bed Installation to perform the following duties: 

Brussels Sprouts harvesting will require workers to be bent over and hand stripping sprouts off stalks into 5 gallon buckets for the majority of the day. Once they have filled a bucket, they will carry it to a conveyor belt typically 10 to 20 feet away, and dump the bucket onto the conveyor belt. Part of the crew will be grading and sorting brussels sprouts on the machine which will require workers to be standing most of the day, analyzing individual brussels sprouts as they pass through on a roller conveyor belt. The defective sprouts will be removed by workers from the grading conveyor into a nearby trash chute. Brussels sprouts will also require workers to walk down brussels sprout rows and either hand pinch off the tops of plants or remove leaves in order to prepare the field for harvest.

Employees will use hand shears and sickle knives in order to remove dead leaves, old stems, organic matter, weeds, overripe fruit, and any other debris from the tops of beds. The work requires employees to be bent over for most of the day, individually assessing each plant as they they move down the row in order to remove all unwanted debris or trash from the bed tops.

Workers will be asked to help install strawberry plastic bed mulch, drip tape, irrigation systems, and dirt roads during this contract. Machinery such as plastic mulch machine, drip tape injection machines, bed shapers, tractors, and listers will be used by the workers in order to complete the installations on each ranch. Shovels will be used to cut plastic on strawberry beds where internal roads will be located. (No construction or cement is required) Workers will be asked to help move rolls of polytubing as well as oval into the fields in order to install the irrigation systems on each ranch. Each job task may require workers to either be sitting for long periods of time or be standing for long periods of time.

Special Requirements

Minimum Job Requirements: 3 months experience in operating agricultural equipment. Workers must stand, sit, crouch, bend, reach, lift and carry items weighing up to 75 pounds in the course of performing required activities. Must have use of both hands. Must be able to use hand tools, including cutting knives. Must be able to work under conditions where skin and clothing become heavily soiled with mud, water, grease, etc. Must be able to work outdoors in inclement weather conditions, including rain, cold, high winds, etc. Work involves frequent bending and working in bent or stooped positions. Must be able to walk and stand up extensively. No smoking, illegal drugs, alcohol or weapons of any sort in the housing or working fields.