Farm Workers

Crops/Commodities: Farm Work: tomatoes, red potatoes, green bell peppers, cabbage, turnips, collards, kale, cantaloupes, watermelons, squash, cucumbers, hot and mild peppers, eggplant, green beans, peas, broccoli, sweet corn, plums, nectarines, satsumas, pecans, cotton, peaches and peanuts. Primary duties (performed the majority of workdays): Workers will mechanically or manually perform the following activities: plant tomatoes; plant and harvest red potatoes, green bell peppers, hot and mild peppers, cabbage, turnips, collards, kale, cantaloupe, watermelon, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, peas, broccoli, cotton and peanuts; and harvest sweet corn, plums, peaches, nectarines, satsumas, and pecans. Grade and pack produce. Prepare fields for planting. Workers will hand harvest sweet corn by walking down each row and evaluating ears according to supervisor's instructions. Workers will hand pick sweet corn and place in bucket. Workers will take buckets to wagon and stack. Once wagon is full the wagon will then go to the packing house. On occasion workers will pack into burlap bag. Select mature melons based on appearance only considering the variances in shape, size, weight, and external color while also considering other factors such as location of vine, age of crop, number of times crop has been cut, growing conditions of crop, as well as variety of watermelons and sever from vine. Once the watermelon is severed from the vine, cutters determine the grade or class of the watermelon and discard any watermelons with defects which render them unmarketable. Lift selected melons and pitch to another farm worker who catches the melons and pitches them to another farm worker or gently places them in the designated bins. The bins are then loaded onto a truck and transported to the packing house. Only specified fruit is to be picked as instructed and desirable fruit should not be left on the tree. Cut and drag broken tree limbs from field. Remove any vines, suckers, shoots or debris that may deter the function or growth of trees. Workers must use care when picking not to damage or bruise fruit and to not break limbs or leaves off of trees. Improper pruning can cause problems with fruit load, fruit size, disease severity and overall production. Transplant potato plants into the ground and cover the root of the plant with dirt. Harvest potatoes by hand and place into bucket. Workers will transplant stake and tie tomatoes. Workers will be required to transplant tomato plants by placing plants into pre-dug holes. Hand pick peas and beans and place into bucket. Once bucket is full carry bucket to trailer moving through field and empty into bin. Pick developed peppers or cucumber and place into bucket/box, making sure that plant is picked clean of all produce of correct size and maturity. When bucket is full, carry to dumper on truck that is moving through rows alongside workers, being careful not to bruise produce. Cut squash or eggplant using a knife and place into bucket, making sure that plant is picked clean of correct size and maturity. When bucket is full, carry to dumper on truck moving through rows alongside workers. Transplant leafy greens by taking plant out of tray that is on a trailer moving down a row and place plant into a pre-dug hole and cover hole with dirt. Cut, band, bundle and box greens. When box is full, take box to truck moving through rows alongside workers. Cut broccoli and cabbage using a knife and individually place onto moving truck. Cut broccoli and cabbage rows clean of correct sized heads and correct number of leaves, being gentle with produce. Operate machinery to plant and harvest cotton and peanuts. Operate module to pack cotton and manually put dropped cotton back into module using a pitch fork and stack bales in the field. Harvest pecans, prune and thin trees. Packing crews within the packing house will pack using a conveyor belt packing line.

Salary : $11