Crop Care Workers

H2ajobs; Richmond (KY); On-site; USD 17,000 - 22,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer-provided housing

Weekly transportation to town

Kitchen facilities at housing

Job summary

H2ajobs in Kentucky is seeking laborers for a hydroponic greenhouse operation growing tomatoes. You will assist in planting, cultivating, harvesting, packing, and general greenhouse upkeep to ensure high-quality produce.

Work involves lifting, sorting, and operating basic packing tools; training on safety and food safety protocols is provided. Housing is employer-provided; meals are not provided, with weekly town transportation available. This is a full-time seasonal role in a farm setting.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 months verifiable agricultural experience, preferably on a vegetable farm.
• Ability to perform manual labor and operate basic equipment in a greenhouse.

Responsibilities

• Plant, cultivate, harvest, and pack tomatoes in a hydroponic greenhouse.
• Inspect and sort tomatoes to meet customer specifications.
• Clean and maintain equipment and work areas; adhere to food safety standards.

Skills

Manual labor

Attention to detail

Teamwork

Tools

Forklift

Job description

Crops/Commodities:

tomatoes.

Primary duties (performed the majority of workdays):

Jobs offered are working in a hydroponic greenhouse facility planting, cultivating, harvesting, packing tomatoes and greenhouse cleanout activities. The following applies to all crops listed:

• Tomatoes on the Vine
• Cocktail Tomatoes

Under supervision, workers will perform manual labor to work in hydroponic greenhouse facility to prepare for new crop, perform regular crop maintenance , including lowering, de-leafing, harvesting and maintaining the plants. Workers will set up rockwool/peatmoss, load and unload new plants onto and off of trucks and/or carts, hang and remove string and plant wire spacing. Maintain all grounds including gutters, irrigation lines, remove and replace old drippers, maintain botrytis and close bee hives. The workers will ensure that the plant crop is carried out efficiently and with care in order to produce a quality grown vegetable. Proper use of gloves, hairnets, smocks, shoe covers, hand sanitizers, foot baths and clippers is required. All food safety activities will also fall under the responsibility of this job order both inside and outside the greenhouse to ensure adherence to SQF rules and regulations as well as our strict integrated pest management program and all COVID-19 protocols. Other general agricultural labor duties as may be assigned from time to time.

Workers will perform tasks associated with packing tomatoes. Inspect tomatoes, remove segregated tomatoes from sorting stations, hand pack. Grade, sort according to company specifications in regard to size, color, appearance and quality to meet specific customer demands. Discard inferior or defective products and/or foreign matter and place only acceptable products in packaging containers for further processing. Place product in containers according to grade. Measure, weigh and count product and materials. Examine and inspect containers, materials and products to ensure that packing specifications are met. Remove completed or defective products, placing them on conveyors or in specified areas, such as allocated bins at loading docks. Place labels on clamshells or packaging containers. Stack packed tomatoes, stack boxes on pallets, lift boxes or crates, as required. Load materials and products into package processing equipment. Workers may operate agricultural machinery/equipment essential to packing tomatoes, including scales, sorting tables, palletizers and automatic lifts. Forklift operator responsibilities will include delivering pallets of finished product to cold storage, loading/unloading as needed, setting up orders for shipping, record keeping of materials and finished product. Workers will be responsible for cleaning all machinery, electronic equipment and the facility work areas at end of shift. Workers must adhere to all Food Safety Protocol.

Workers will be working under the direction of the Labor Manager, Head Grower, Crop Supervisor or an experienced Group Leader.

Workers will receive training on employer's policies with which they must comply including Equal Employment Opportunity policies, and Food and Health safety standards and guidelines, FMLA and worker's compensation leave policies and other standard operating procedures, around the time work commences.

Workers must attend an orientation session to review and train accordingly. Workers will be issued an identification badge and timekeeping wristband at no cost. Instructions on use and care of both will be provided in orientation. The employer retains ownership of the timekeeping wristband and ID badge. Both items must be returned to the employer upon termination of employment.

Use, possession, transfer, offer, sale or manufacture of marijuana and/or controlled substances strictly prohibited. All work sites are alcohol and drug free workplaces.

Housing: Employer-provided (including mobile or range)

Meals: Employer does not provide meals. Employer-provided housing includes free and convenient kitchen facilities with appropriate equipment, appliances, cooking accessories, and dishwashing facilities for meal preparation. For workers residing in employer-provided housing, employer also provides free transportation once per week to/from closest town or city for personal errands (e.g., groceries, banking services). Dining, kitchen/cooking facilities and other common areas are shared by all workers. In the event that kitchen facilities become unavailable during the contract period, employer will provide three daily meals in accordance with 20 CFR 655.122(g). In such circumstances, employer will deduct the cost of such meals up to the maximum allowable amount published in the Federal Register, or as otherwise approved by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Transport: Employer pays/reimburses foreign workers for all visa-related costs (excluding passport fees) in the first workweek. For non-local workers, employer arranges/provides inbound transportation via common carrier mode of transportation (e.g., bus or plane) and reimburses workers for daily subsistence and reasonable lodging costs, if applicable. Use of employer-offered transportation is voluntary.

Experience wanted: 2 months

This job requires a minimum of 2 months of verifiable agricultural employment experience, preferably on a vegetable farm. Applicants must be able to furnish verifiable job reference(s) or comparable third party documentation from recent employer(s) establishing acceptable prior experience. Workers will be expected to perform manual jobs as well as equipment operation with accuracy and efficiency beginning with planting through harvest. Saturday work required. Must lift/bend/twist/carry up to 30 lbs. Workers need to have no fear of bees and be non-allergic to bee stings. Post-hire employer-paid drug testing and background check required.