Farmworker

Number of Workers Requested:  476

Crops/Commodities: Apples, cherries. This job requires a minimum of 3 months of agricultural employment experience handling manual tasks in a tree fruit orchard. Applicants must be able to furnish verbal or written statement establishing relevant prior work experience. Workers must be able to perform manual tasks with accuracy and efficiency. Plant, cultivate and harvest apples and cherries. Use hand tools including, but not limited to: shovels, hoes, knives, shears, clippers, loppers, and saws. Spread plastic or other groundcovering. Clean plastic by hand from ground upon removal. Handle, install, remove Extenday/reflective material. Till soil. Take care to prevent damaging produce and plants. Mow, cut, and weed fields. Perform ditching, shoveling, hoeing, hauling, ground preparation, and other manual tasks. Bending, stooping and kneeling required. Lift, carry, and load/unload products or supplies. Use/handle ladders up to 12 ft. in length and weighing up to 55 lbs. or perform work on motorized platform. Use power equipment including but not limited to: tractors, planters, mowers, plows, sprayers, cultivators, power shears, chain saws, high lifts, fork lifts, skid loaders. Must operate agricultural equipment safely, with or without direction. Install/maintain irrigation systems and water lines. Move and install irrigation pipes and equipment. Dig and maintain ditches. Install and remove levee gates. Planting: Propagate plants by placing buds/scions. Plant seedlings or ‘liners’ by hand or with mechanical planter. Clear cull stock, brush and debris. Dig holes and shovel dirt. Tree Training: hoeing, tree painting, weed mat application. Tie/position trees and limbs, together and to trellises, using string, tape, wire or other fasteners and supports. Thinning: 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. Pruning: Pruning numerous varieties of apple and cherry trees according to established company procedures based on the difference in the treatment of different varieties. Work will be performed on trees for long periods of time using a variety of pruning equipment including hand shears, hand loppers, hand saws and 10-12 foot ladders. Workers pruning apple and cherry trees may be required to selectively prune only trees of a certain size as instructed by the crew boss. Workers are expected to possess or acquire pruning skills in order to be able to identify and remove stubs or broken branches, downward-growing branches, branches which rub against each other, shaded interior branches, dead wood and shoots/suckers and selectively remove diseased limbs and branches due to fire blight and/or bacterial canker with hand pruning saws and clippers, mechanized clippers and pole pruners. Occasionally workers may be required to use chain saws and other mechanized equipment in pruning activities. Harvesting Apples: 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 and place fruit in bins. Follow supervisor/foreman’s instructions on color/size requirements. Must be able to differentiate between colors and fruit varieties accurately. Harvesting Cherries: Hand pick fruit leaving stems attached. Place harvested fruit at bottom of basket/bucket. Avoid stem pulls, punctures, bruising, or other damage. Identify defects (bird pecks, limb rubs, splits, sunburn) and other damage. Follow supervisor/foreman’s instructions on fruit quality. Must be able to differentiate between colors and sizes accurately.