- Full Time:
- Yes
- Number of Workers Requested:
- 105
- Job Duties:
- Crops/Commodities:
apples, pears, cherries, blueberries, and peaches.
Apple, Pear, Blueberry, and Peaches Harvest
Quality is essential. Different varieties of apples and pears will be picked according to established company procedures based on the end use (spot picking for fresh; small percentage of culls for processing.) Workers must be able to differentiate between colors accurately in order to perform color-specific picking. Must be able to carry and pick from 8-20 foot ladder and be able to carry up to 60 pounds. Must be able to move and position 8-20 foot ladder quickly.
Supervisors will explain and demonstrate if necessary picking requirements to all workers at the start of the season and as needed thereafter to ensure quality standards.
Pick fruit as directed by supervisor. Picking may be by clipping, color pick or size. Worker must be able to see green and red and differentiate between green, cream and yellow background color on apples to determinate maturity level and percent of red color for market requirements. Worker must be able to differentiate between apple varieties so as not to mix apple varieties in the same bin or pick a variety that is not yet mature. Workers should not pick up fruit that has fallen on the ground or knock the fruit out with the ladder or a prop. Use both hands to pick and fill the bucket to keep it level. Clippers are used for some varieties for harvesting for removal of stems by clipping.
Care must be taken when picking so as not to damage or bruise fruit. Workers must be able to pick and dump fruit without stem pulls, punctures, bruising, sunburn, insect damage, disease damage, cracks, bird pecks or other damage which diminishes quality. A written disciplinary warning may occur when a bin is inspected and a significant number of culls, bruised or damaged fruit are found by the supervisor. Upon the third notice a worker's employment may be terminated.
Worker must be able to unload the picking bag into the bin without causing bruising (slowly with a flowing motion, without leaving the bag against the side of the bin). Fill the bin from all sides. Do not let the fruit roll in the bin. The supervisor will inform workers how full to fill the bin. Worker must be able to hold the picking bag so as not to cause bruising when climbing down a ladder.
Cherries:
Maximization of fruit quality is of paramount importance. Different varieties of cherries will be picked according to established company procedures accounting for difference in the treatment of different varieties. Workers must be able to handle ladders which are 12ft. in length and weigh 40 lbs while managing a picking basket/bucket that weighs approximately 20 lbs. Pickers are required to pick the fruit by leaving the stems attached with their fingers and by placing the harvested fruit at the bottom of the basket/bucket. Great care must be taken to ensure that the fruit is harvested and placed into the basket/bucket so as to not bruise or damage the fruit.
Picking and sorting will be performed by color, or color and size as well as by defects which would render the fruit unmarketable. Such defects include but are not limited to bird pecks, limb rub, splits and sunburn. The harvest supervisor will show all harvesters the correct way to pick and sort cherries, in both the fields and packing houses, to reach the quality objectives of the company.
Blueberries:
Workers will cultivate, hand-harvest, sort and pack blueberries.
Fresh Packing Apples, Pears, Cherries and Blueberries
Grade and pack fruit by hand or with mechanized packing equipment, including but not limited to bagging machines, bin feeding machines, box machines, labeling machines, regular and high stacking forklifts. Sort graded fruit in appropriate containers according to packing instructions. May be a passenger when pallets of finished product are delivered to cold storage. Load/unload product.
- Job Classification:
- 45-2092.00 - Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse