Farm Worker

Work description

Citrus Harvesting: Harvesting citrus fruit by hand under supervisor’s instructions. The worker will place a picking sack over their shoulder and carry an 18’ to 20’ ladder from the field truck to the area of the grove to be harvested. The picking sack is a canvas bag equipped with a shoulder strap for support, an opening for the insertion of fruit, and an opening to remove fruit. A fully loaded sack weighs between approximately 80 and 100 pounds, depending upon the size, condition, and variety of fruit. Workers position the ladder against the tree and within reach of the fruit in a secure, leaning position, taking care not to break limbs, damage the tree, knock off fruit, or interfere with other workers, ensuring a secure position to prevent slipping or falling. Workers will remove fruit from the tree by hand and place it into the picking sack. When the picking sack is full, the worker will transport the full sack to the designated fruit tub or bin. In order to perform this kind of work, worker must be able to work outside for at least 6 hours a day in all kinds of weather and be in possession of the requisite physical strength and endurance to repeat the picking process rapidly, working quickly and skillfully with their hands, and carrying a large number of sacks of fruit from the area in which the fruit is being harvested to the location of the tub Farm Labor Activities: At times, or when harvesting work is not available, and following supervisor instructions, workers may be required to perform general farm labor activities such as weeding, vining, sprouting, soil drenching, tree planting, re-standing, trimming, hand fertilizing, tree injection with Oxytetracycline (OTC), spraying herbicide and pesticides, and irrigation repair. In addition, workers may clean and assist in the repair and maintenance of farm equipment such as tractors, Goats/Loaders, trucks, buses, trailers, and other harvesting tools and farm machinery. At times, and after hurricanes and tropical storms, grove cleanup activities such as debris removal, weeding, tree standing, and vining may be required. In addition, cleaning and repairing minor damage to Company provided worker housing to maintain a clean and safe living area may be required. Days and Hours may vary.