Fruit And Vegetable 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 fruit and vegetable planting, harvesting, packing, and field work is temporary and will last from September to May.

Field Work- During the contract, the worker will prepare the fields for planting. This will consist of putting down and taking off plastic ground cover, digging trenches, installing and repairing irrigation, planting, weeding, staking and tying, pruing, planting transplants, and other miscellaneous work.

Watermelon Hand Harvesting-In order to perform this kind of work, the worker must be able to walk down the field row and use a knife to hand-cut ripe watermelons off the vine for harvesting. The watermelons are then loaded in a bus by forming part of an assembly line, in which the first worker bends down picks up the watermelon and it is passed on to consecutive workers by passing, catching, lifting, until it reaches the worker on the bus, who then sets it down and stacks them until the bus is considered full.

Row Crop Harvesting - In order to perform this kind of work, the worker must be able to walk down the field row and use hand or a knife to hand cut ripe row crops off the vine and bush for harvesting. The row crops are then gently placed in the fruit container until it is filled, taking care not to overfill or over pack the container. The full harvesting container will be taken to a loading truck. An empty container is given back to the worker and the process started again.

Field Drivers-The field drivers will drive the buses, tractors, or trucks out to the field where the field workers who are harvesting the crop will load the crop onto the bus, bins on wagon or trucks until full. They will then drive the fully loaded bus, wagons, or trucks back to the packing shed where the packing shed workers will unload them onto a belt. The process is then repeated again until all dialy work assigned by supervisor is completed.

Farm Equipment and Vehicle Operation-The workers may need to drive and/or operate various agricultural farm equipment and vehicles to perform the work on the farm such as field trucks, tractors, and forklifts. The workers must use safety andprecaution when using agricultural farm equipment and vehicles. All passengers must be seated and practice safety and precaution. The passengers must wait to exit the agricultural farm equipment and vehicles when the driver comes to a complete stop and gets off the vehicle. The workers will keep the agricultural farm
equipment and vehicles free of trash. Only properly licensed drivers will be permitted to operate the agricultural farm equipment and vehicles. Workers must take care to operate all equipment safely and follow all safety requirements outlined by the employer.

Special Requirements

The worker must be responsible and consistent on the job. The worker must be able to lift 0-75 lbs., do repetitive movements, extensive pushing and pulling, walking, frequent stooping continuously throughout the day, and work in all kinds of weather conditions.

At any time during the work contract dates the workers may be subject to random drug testing at no cost to the workers. All drug testing if conducted may be carried out after the workers begin employment and is not part of the interview process. Workers who do not go through or decline a drug test will result in immediate termination.