Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop

at Central Arizona Farming in Aguila, Arizona, United States

Job Description

Cantaloupe Cutter: The “Cutter” position will be responsible for walking through the field, bending down, and locating a package ready melon. Upon locating the melon, workers will use a Company-supplied knife to cut the melon from the vine. After cutting the melon from the vine, workers will then place the melon in the furrow and continue through the field. Equipment supplied by the Employer includes gloves and a cutting knife.
Cantaloupe Loader: The “Loader” position will walk in the furrow behind a self propelled conveyor. While walking in the furrow the workers will bend down and pick up each melon left by the cutter. The workers will then place the melon on the conveyor belt. The self propelled conveyor moves through the field, allowing each melon left by the cutter to be placed on the belt by the Loader position. Equipment supplied by the Employer includes gloves.
The Positions of Lemon Drop, Honeydew, Golden Honeydew and Mini Watermelon Cutter; Lemon Drop, Honeydew, Golden Honeydew and Mini Watermelon Grader/ Packer; Lemon Drop, Honeydew, Golden Honeydew and Mini Watermelon Labeler; and Lemon Drop, Honeydew, Golden Honeydew and Mini Watermelon Box Maker apply to the Lemon Drop, Honeydew, Golden Honeydew and Mini Watermelon varieties of melon.
Lemon Drop, Honeydew, Golden Honeydew and Mini Watermelon Cutter: The “Cutter” will be responsible for walking through the field, bending down, and locating a package ready melon. Upon locating the melon, workers will use a Company-supplied knife to cut the melon from the vine. After cutting the melon from the vine, workers will rise up and place the melon on the field pack machine tray and continue through the field. Equipment supplied by the Employer includes gloves and a cutting knife.
Lemon Drop, Honeydew, Golden Honeydew and Mini Watermelon Grader/ Packer: The “Packer” will stand on the field pack machine as it moves through the field. Workers will reach up and retrieve a carton, placing the carton on the field pack machine tray. From the tray holding the package ready melons, workers will retrieve the appropriate sized melon for the carton, and place the melon in the carton. Once the carton is filled, workers will move the carton to the conveyor belt for the Set Off. Equipment supplied by the Employer includes gloves.
Lemon Drop, Honeydew, Golden Honeydew and Mini Watermelon Labeler: The “Labeler” will stand on the field pack machine, and from a pre-pasted roll of stickers, place a sticker on each melon that has been packed in the carton. Equipment supplied by the Employer includes gloves. Lemon Drop, Honeydew, Golden Honeydew and Mini Watermelon Box Maker: The “Box Maker” will stand on the field pack machine. From a stack of un-made cartons, workers will pick up a carton and fold it into a made carton. Once they have made the carton, workers will place the carton on the overhead storage rack for use by the Packer position. This will continue as the field pack machine moves through the field. Equipment supplied by the Employer includes gloves.

Tractor: Drive and control farm equipment to till, plant, cultivate, mow, and harvest crops. Many operations such as maintenance and or repair require good physical ability and knowledge. Workers may ride equipment such as irrigation tape injectors and or plastic mulch laying equipment.
Other job duties include:
o Harvest trailers, loading and unloading of seed, plants, materials and chemicals by hand or forklifts.
o Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
o Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions. Multiple daily inspections of equipment or facilities to determine safety, condition, and maintenance needs.
o Lay irrigation tape, burn, spray, pull, build and maintain ditches by hand, tractor, and loader.
o Furrow irrigation preparation and maintenance of head and tail ditches, such as rowbuck, blade, and hand operated shovel when necessary.
o Mixing of specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, bottles, buckets, water soluble packets, and seed into planter, sprayer, or mixing equipment. Prepare materials or solutions for application, utilization of supplied personal protection equipment per label instructions.
o Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, trucks, irrigation pumps, loaders, forklifts, hand trucks, pickups, atv, trailers, man lifts, fuel tanks, water tanks, water trucks, chemical tank trailers, propane tank and harvest equipment.
o Manipulate controls, monitors, touch screens, to safely operate agricultural equipment.
o Operate equipment while observing and monitoring of workers riding equipment while transplanting, laying irrigation tubing, plastic mulch, burning and spraying ditches, planting, cultivating, tilling, pulling plastic mulch or tape.
o Load hoppers, totes, buckets, conveyors, augers to feed machines with products, using tractors, loaders, forklifts, transfer augers, belts, buckets, and shovels.
o Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus, weed growth, and diseases by hand, pull type, and self-propelled sprayers.
o Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, cultivators, mowers, shredders, rippers, blades, etc, both pull type, link mounted, and power take off driven implements.
o Operate towed, integrated, or link mounted machines while planting, fertilizing, dusting, burning, and spraying crops.
o Walk beside or riding on machines while planting, tilling, harvesting or post-harvest cleaning of fields.
o Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, fuel, or farms workers.
o Weigh containers, record weights, counts of seed, crops, containers, supplies, chemicals, products being applied, planted, hauled, stored, harvested and transferred. Record, report and turning information into supervisor.
o Must be able to read and execute written work orders, fill out information and return forms to supervisors per shift. All work is to be performed safely and in accordance to regulation, and company policies. Proper personal protection must always be worn. Work is conducted day and or night shifts, weekends, holidays as needed.

Greenhouse workers, Broccoli harvest consists of: Cutters, Bunchers, Packers, Set off, Carton makers. Irrigation Workers, Lettuce and cabbage harvesting.

 Work is to be done for long periods of time in the field, when plants may be wet with dew and rain, and may be required during light rain, snow, moderate winds, direct sun, high humidity and extreme temperatures. Allergies to ragweed, goldenrod, insect spray, related chemicals, etc. may affect workers ability to perform the job. Workers must be able to perform the required work with or without reasonable accommodations.

Must wear assigned personal protective equipment when required. Must report for work daily wearing appropriate work clothing and boots or other durable foot wear. Casual clothing not permitted. Workers wearing inappropriate clothing will not be permitted to start work.