Farm Worker and Laborer

Number of Workers Requested:  45

Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest fruit and vegetables including; cherries, strawberries, apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, cucumbers, melons, okra, and pumpkins. Use hand tools, such as, shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks and shears, knives, hammers, and saws. Duties including manually cultivating all the different crops, hand thinning of any of the different crops, pruning, weeding, removing problem vines. Construct and repair trellis systems, repair and painting of farm fences and buildings. The sorting and repairing bulk bins. Tying, strapping, and taping of different crops, the irrigation of plants. Using riding mowers, push mowers, and weedeaters to mow around orchard property. Application of electrical post and wires, and applying tree wraps for deer and groundhog control. Manually picking up roots, rocks, old plastic and the laying of new plastic in prep for new plantings. Picking apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, and plums for fresh marketing and/or processing. Processing and packaging fresh fruit and vegetables. Productivity must be at least 100 bushel boxes per day of fresh market fruit. All fruit to be handled with care to avoid bruising. Fruit injured by bruising shall not exceed 2% as defined in the U.S. standard for grades. Workers must be able to pick tree fruit, most of which is done from ladders, with the lower branches being picked from the ground. Picked fruit is placed in a molded plastic canvas covered picking bucket, with canvas straps that slip over the head and rest on the shoulders. Filled buckets weighing up to 60 pounds are emptied into bulk bins with capacity ranging between 13 1 and 1/8th bushel boxes to 25 1 and 1/8th bushel boxes. Workers are to handle ladders up to 24 foot long and weighing about 2 pounds per foot. Inform farmers or farm managers of crop progress. Must be physically able to lift up to 75 pounds on a consistent basis throughout the day. Due to safety concerns of a farm, workers must understand some basic instruction in English. Workers referred as a result of this order must have a minimum of 3 months verifiable experience in performing the tasks described in this order. Employer assures that workers will be provided transportation from living quarters to work site every day (for workers who must be provided housing under the applicable regulations.) The employer may discipline the worker, including brief suspension of work activities for a period determined by the supervisor, suspension from employment for a set period of days or termination of employment as described in the ?Work Rules? attached hereto. Workers may not report for work while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Employer retains the right to discharge any obviously unqualified worker, malingerer, or recalcitrant worker who is physically able but does not demonstrate the willingness to perform the work necessary for the employer to grow a premium quality product, or for any other lawful reason All terms and conditions included in the job order will apply equally to all workers, both U.S. workers and H-2A workers, employed in the occupation described in this clearance order Because the work qualifies as exempt under 29 USC 213(b)(6) overtime rates are not applicable unless required by state law