- Full Time:
- Yes
- Number of Workers Requested:
- 90
- Job Duties:
- Crops/Commodities:
orchard work: peaches and pecans.
Primary duties (performed the majority of workdays):
Manually cultivate, harvest, grade and pack peaches; plant peach trees and pecan trees. Perform ongoing peach and pecan orchard maintenance including pruning and thinning trees. Operate and maintain farm vehicles and equipment. Use hand tools such as clippers, shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears and knives. Till soil, transplant, weed, thin and prune crops; clean and load harvested products; count and check in field; cut and drag broken limbs from field and mow; remove any vines, suckers, shoots or debris that may deter the function or growth of trees. Participate in irrigation activities. Set up and operate irrigation equipment. Clear, install and maintain irrigation system. Operate tractors, tractor-drawn machinery, forklift and self-propelled machinery to plow, harrow and fertilize soil, or to plant, cultivate, spray, and harvest crops, and load bins or pallets of produce. Workers must be at least 18 years of age to operate heavy farm equipment such as forklifts and tractors. Drive vehicles to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers on or off the farm. Construct or repair trellising. Repair farm buildings, structures and fences. Maintain farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment. Apply pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers to crops. Inform orchard managers of crop progress. Record information about crops, such as pesticide use and yields. Workers must have a general understanding of how pruning affects competition with fruiting wood and how thinning is done to provide nutrition to the developing fruit. Improper pruning can cause problems with fruit load, fruit size, disease severity, and overall production. Receive, grade, sort or classify peaches by size, weight, color, or condition. Remove leaves from peaches and cull defective fruit as defined by grading standards as peaches move across grading tables. Discard inferior or defective peaches and/or foreign matter. Place graded fruit in appropriate containers by attending automatic filler or by hand according to grade and pack style. Mark grade, style or size on containers. Place filled containers on conveyors or in specified areas. Stack filled containers on pallets by prescribed pattern and height according to size, grade, brand, label or other identification. Apply strapping or other stabilizing materials to finished pallets manually with hand tools or using automatic equipment. Record product, packaging and order information on specified forms and records. Apply tags or printed labels to containers. Measure, weigh, count and record finished products. Examine and inspect containers, and materials to ensure that packing specifications are met. Assemble cartons, inserts, crates and containers by hand or using container assembly machinery. Clean containers, materials, supplies, or work areas using cleaning solutions and hand tools. Workers must harvest fruit of desired ripeness and use care when harvesting not to damage or bruise produce. Assist with Good Agricultural Practices policies. Allergies to ragweed, goldenrod, honey bees, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or related chemicals may affect a worker's ability to perform the job. Persons seeking employment in this position must be available for the entire period requested by the employer.
Generally, the offer of incentive piece rates will depend on precision, volume, ripeness and quality standards at the discretion of the employer. Incentive rate for picking peaches are based on a minimum of 45 cents per 5/8 bushel unit of peaches. Workers will be required to harvest 16-5/8 bushel buckets per hour. Incentive rate for picking peaches can be adjusted upward by management to account for light picking volume and will be communicated before the job begins.
- Job Classification:
- 45-2092.00 - Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse