Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

Workers will perform assigned duties as instructed by their supervisors, Sweet Potato Cultivation and Planting: Workers will harvest sweet potato slips/cuttings from seedbeds by selecting appropriate plants, cutting them, and placing them into baskets. This work is repetitive and requires frequent bending and reaching. To meet normal production standards under typical field conditions, workers must be able to complete an average of three (3) full baskets per hour. Following slip harvesting, workers will perform planting duties both manually and by machine. Machine Planting: Workers will repeatedly place slips into a mechanical “butterfly” planting device, ensuring that approximately 2–3 inches of the plant end protrudes above the soil surface to allow for proper root establishment. Manual Planting: Workers will walk field rows, create a hole approximately 3 inches deep, insert the slip, and firmly pack soil around the plant at approximately 10-inch intervals. Sweet Potato Harvesting: Workers will manually harvest sweet potatoes from the ground and simultaneously sort them into three (3) distinct classes based on quality and size. Workers will fill 5/8-bushel (BU) buckets and transport full buckets to the field truck for unloading. A production tracking system (tickets) will be used to record the daily volume harvested by each worker. Workers are expected to return promptly to the assigned picking area to continue harvesting throughout the duration of the work shift. This work involves repetitive lifting, bending, and carrying. Cucumber Planting and Cultivation: Workers will prepare cucumber transplants for placement in the field. Machine Planting: Workers will repeatedly place cucumber plants into a mechanical “butterfly” planting device, ensuring the plant end extends approximately 2–3 inches above the soil surface. Manual Planting: Workers will walk through the field, create a hole approximately 3 inches deep, insert the transplant, and firmly pack soil around the base. Workers must maintain proper plant spacing as directed by the supervisor to ensure optimal crop growth. Cucumber Harvesting: Workers will manually harvest cucumbers according to specified size, color, and quality standards. Harvested cucumbers will be placed into five-gallon buckets. Once a bucket is full, workers will transport it to the field truck and unload the produce. This task is repetitive and requires workers to remain in a stooped or bent position for extended periods. Tobacco Planting and Cultivation: Workers will transport full tobacco transplant trays to the field for planting. Manual Planting: Workers will walk designated rows, create a hole approximately 3 inches deep, insert the transplant, and firmly pack soil around the base at approximately 12-inch spacing. Machine Planting: Workers will sit on a mechanical transplanter and drop one plant into each rotating cone at regular intervals (approximately every two seconds). Any missed planting pockets must be immediately replanted by hand. Tobacco Harvesting (Topping, Suckering, and Priming): Topping and Suckering: Workers will move through assigned rows and manually remove the flower head (“topping”) from each tobacco plant. At the same time, workers will remove “suckers” (axillary buds) located between the leaf and stem using both hands. This task is repetitive and requires sustained hand and arm movement. Under normal field conditions, workers are expected to maintain an efficient pace averaging approximately 4–5 seconds per plant. Priming (Leaf Harvesting): Workers will perform multiple harvest passes (“primings”) as tobacco leaves ripen from the bottom upward. During each pass, workers will remove 3–5 ripe leaves per plant, carry leaves in bundles under their arms, and unload them into a tobacco trailer. Any dropped leaves must be recovered.

Salary : $13