Farmworker

Work description

Crops/Commodities: Peaches, cattle, turkeys. Primary duties (performed the majority of workdays): Plant, cultivate, and harvest tree fruit. Spot and/or strip pick fruit based on seasonal need. Snap fruit off tree with thumb and palm of hand to avoid stem pulls, punctures, bruising, or other damage. Pick culls and peelers. Fill fruit buckets, baskets and crates, must transfer fruit in different containers for selling. Add plastic liners to baskets, transfer crates, and sanitize crates. Must be able to carry fruit to customers vehicle or storage areas and haul fruit short distances. Workers may be asked to help at the produce shed and maintaining roads within the orchard. Follow supervisor/foreman instructions on color/size requirements. Must be able to differentiate between colors and fruit varieties accurately. Hand thin to control the size and quality of fruit. Remove fruit blossom, bud and/or identifiable fruit from within a cluster of other fruits. Must accurately identify and remove misshapen, damaged, or otherwise, unmarketable fruit. Hand prune based on fruit variety and foreman's instructions. Use manual and mechanized pruning tools and equipment. Must be able to apply paint to tree trunks, thin fruit, Identify and remove stubs or broken branches, pruning cuttings and other orchard debris, downward-growing branches, branches rubbing against each other, shaded interior branches, dead wood, and shoots-suckers. Workers injured on the job and unable to perform the full range of duties may be offered light duty, if available. Light duty tasks may vary depending on availability of task, nature of worker injury, and instructions from workers physician. Light duty tasks may include blight checking, fruit checking/quality control, light picking/pruning/thinning/sorting, transferring, or tree counting. Install/maintain irrigation systems and water lines. Move and install irrigation pipes and equipment. Dig and maintain ditches. Install and remove levee gates. Apply pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other crop protectants. Apply fertilizers, plant growth chemicals, conditioners, and other plant related treatments at the correct times depending on plant type, growth, climate, and crop conditions. Workers must operate all equipment properly and in a manner that protects operator, others, the employer's products, and property. Failure to comply with safety requirements and operating instructions may result in disciplinary action up to and including immediate termination. Mow, cut, and weed fields, yards, and around the produce shed. Perform ditching, shoveling, hoeing, hauling, ground preparation, equipment and facility cleaning and other manual tasks. Bending, stooping, and kneeling required. Use hand tools including but not limited to hoes, shovels, shears, clippers, weed eaters, chainsaws, rakes, pressure washer, loppers, and saws. Lift, carry, and load/unload products or supplies. Assist with farm building/field and orchard maintenance and repairs. Clean ground in order to Repair / Maintain fences. Possible ground preparation for new plantings of trees as well as other small fruits. As minor duties the workers may perform duties associated with the care of livestock, turkeys, and a vegetable garden. Feed and water livestock, herd livestock to pasture for grazing, into lots, or catch pens. Herd animals into corral, chute, alley, and or stall. Moving turkeys, helping get set up for new poults and setting new poults. Plant, Cultivate, and harvest vegetables if garden is planted. Must wear assigned personal protective equipment when required. Must report for work daily wearing work clothing and boots or other durable footwear. Workers wearing clothing inappropriate for work will not be permitted to start work. Outdoor work required when plants are wet, or during light rain, snow, moderate winds, direct sun, high humidity, and extreme temperatures. Temperatures in fields during working hours may vary.