Farm Laborer

Job description

The farm work position includes duties associated with the planting, cultivating, harvesting, grading and packing of onions, watermelons, garlic. This work can require standing, walking, stooping, bending, and lifting up to 60 pounds for long periods of time outdoors in all weather conditions. It also includes making important decisions based on size, coloring, and ripeness according to prescribed standards. 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 who will purchase and consume the fresh produce grown, harvested, packed, and shipped from the farm.

Planting Watermelons, Onions, Garlic: Workers will plant, cultivate and harvest fruits and vegetables. Workers will be required to remove weeds by hand or with a hoe. Workers will bend and stoop to pick vegetables according to size, color, shape and degree of maturity and place into field containers. Workers may carry full container weighing approximately 60 lbs. and empty into field bin or load onto trailer. May be required to pull and discard culls as directed by supervisor. Pickers will take care not to bruise or scar produce. Pre-harvest activities may include staking, tying, transplanting and pruning. Workers will stand on feet for long periods of time. Workers are required to work in fields when plants are wet with dew or rain.

Produce Harvesting: Workers will be assigned a row or series of rows and required to select and pick produce according to criteria outlined and demonstrated by managers such as size, coloring, and ripeness. They will be responsible for in-field grading and discarding of poor quality, rotting, and/or over-ripened produce. Workers will gently load the good quality produce into containers, taking care to avoid damage or bruising.

Grading will be done by working carefully removing any leaves and defective pieces as defined by grading supervisor. They will be responsible for sorting and discarding of poor quality, rotting, and/or over-ripened produce. Workers will gently load the good quality produce into containers, taking care to avoid damage or bruising.

Packing Operation: Produce must be handled carefully to avoid bruises or fingernail cuts. Fillers: workers box the graded fruit in appropriate containers by attending automatic filler or by hand as necessary according to packing instructions disclosed by the supervisor. Special Packaging: workers may be required to custom fill trays and marketing gift packs according to supervisor's instructions. Stacking Filled boxes and cartons are stacked carefully by prescribed pattern and height onto pallets and secured by netting or tape. Some filled boxes weighing up to 60 pounds must be lifted over head for finishing a pallet prescribed load. Duties include operating fork lift and trucks, dump operators, bin and pallet repair, and clean up. Supervisors will explain and demonstrate packing requirements to all workers at the start of the season and as needed thereafter to ensure quality standards. Bruised or damaged fruit will be noted by supervisor(s) in a post-inspection quality report.