Agriculture Equipment Operator

Work description

Workers will perform assign duties as instructed by their supervisor. Agriculture Equipment Operator to operate equipment used to harvest crops. Must have the correct type of license required by State and Federals laws, and drivers responsible for transporting workers will be required to have a valid and unexpired Federal Farm Labor Contractor or Federal Farm Labor Contractor Employee Registration with driving authorization. Will be responsible for operating the vehicles used to move crops on the farm. Must be able to safely operate the buses that are used to transport workers to and from work sites. Operate forklifts and equipment used to move supplies and harvesting equipment in the field. Maintain harvest equipment. Must be able to reach, bend and lift items weighing 100 pounds. The alternative work if needed will be to assist with the harvesting and Grove General Maintenance. 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 particular 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. Worker positions 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. Worker 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. Harvesting Blueberry by hand, the worker will walk down the blueberry field rows where the blueberry will be harvested. The worker will place a 1 gallon picking bucket with a strap over his shoulder from the field truck to the particular area of the field where the fruit will be harvested. The 1 gallon picking bucket is a canvas, equipped with a shoulder strap for support. Worker positions himself in front of the blueberry tree and will remove the fruit from the tree and place into the 1 gallon picking bucket taking care not to break any limbs, damage the tree, or knock off the fruit. When the 1 gallon picking bucket is full he will take it to the truck at the end of the row where he will unload his fruit into a small tub or container. Strawberry Harvest: Workers will move down assigned rows picking all ripe berries, grading berries while harvesting, taking care to sort and pack containers by size, shape, color, quality and quantity as directed. Each worker must pick the plants clean of all ripe fruit, sort and pack all good berries into specified containers, within the box, according to very high quality standards as set forth in the Company Production and Quality Standard. Bad berries will be packed or disposed of as determined by the Supervisor. Each worker shall handle berries carefully to avoid bruising. Bruising will weaken the berry. Each harvesting worker is expected to move with the crew from row to row to maintain the efficiency level. Upon completion of each box picked, the worker will place their assigned numeric sticker on the box, take his/her packed box to the crate shed to be viewed for grade, receive credit on his/her assigned numeric sticker, and receive a new box with containers. Any containers that are over or under packed, or consist of poor quality fruit, will be returned to the worker for repacking. Upon completion of an assigned row, the worker will move to the next vacant row to be picked. Harvester may receive disciplinary notice if quality standards are an issue.