at Shelburne Orchards in Shelburne , Vermont, United States
Job Description
All applicants must be able, willing and qualified to perform the work described in the job order and must be available for the entire period of employment specified in Section A.3 & A.4. Workers will perform a variety of
agricultural duties related to apple production, cider processing, greenhouse production, vegetable, mushroom, and fruit production, egg collection, packing, and general farm maintenance. Duties include planting seeds;
transplanting; cultivating; weeding; hoeing; thinning; pruning; training; suckering; lowering; clipping; harvesting; grading; sorting; washing; weighing; labeling; branding; dating; packing; and preparing apples, fruits, vegetables,
mushrooms, eggs, and other farm products for storage, shipment, or retail sale. Workers will perform orchard duties including preparing soil; planting and maintaining apple trees; pruning, thinning, training, and harvesting
apples; mowing; spraying; repairing storage bins, fences, and trellises; collecting orchard debris; and performing general orchard and farm maintenance. Workers must possess the knowledge and ability to prune, thin, and
train apple trees and perform greenhouse tomato production tasks including harvesting, grading, suckering, lowering, clipping, and thinning. Workers assigned to cider production will set up, operate, clean, and store cidermaking
equipment. Duties include loading apples into processing equipment using forklifts; operating grinders, cider presses, transfer pumps, and other processing equipment; distributing apple mash onto press racks;
manually bottling cider; and cleaning equipment, tanks, floors, and work areas after each production run using water, cleaning solutions, pressure washers, and other cleaning tools. Workers will safely operate, adjust, and
maintain tractors, forklifts, harvest vehicles, trucks, irrigation systems, and other agricultural equipment used in fields, orchard, greenhouse, packing, and cider production operations. Workers may load and unload trucks,
transport harvested crops, tools, supplies, and equipment between fields, storage facilities, farm buildings, and retail stands, and set up and operate irrigation systems. Workers may use hand tools including, but not limited to,
shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, pruning shears, hand saws, knives, irrigation pumps, drills, saws, powered screwdrivers, and similar tools required to perform assigned duties. Workers may be asked to
operate trucks or other multi-purpose vehicles to transport workers from housing (whether on or off farm) to the farm properties; haul tools, supplies, or crops; transport workers from place to place around the farm properties
during the workday (including on public roads to reach farmer's fields); and/or transport workers to the grocery store, bank, or laundry facilities on an as needed basis. Workers that are requested to drive will be required to
possess a valid driver’s license; no worker will be rejected for not having a driver's license. Workers who do drive will still perform the same field work and other duties as non-driving workers; driving is not a primary duty. The
work is physically demanding and requires prolonged standing, walking, bending, stooping, kneeling, climbing, repetitive motions, and frequent lifting and carrying of up to 50 pounds. Workers performing orchard harvest
duties must be able to repeatedly climb a 20-foot ladder while carrying an apple-picking bucket harnessed over their shoulders. Workers must be able to work in environmental conditions ranging from cold, damp spring and
fall weather to hot, humid summer conditions. Workers are required to work 6-hour shifts within the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m from Tuesday to Friday. Duties at the farm, including greenhouse operations, vegetable,
mushroom, and fruit production, packing, cider processing, and related farm maintenance, will generally be performed Tuesday through Friday.
Work performed in the orchard, including apple production, pruning, thinning, harvesting, and related orchard maintenance, will generally require workers
to work 6 hours shifts within the hours of 7:00am to 7:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. This totals 36 hours per week. The 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. range
accounts for varying farm conditions (e.g., weather or crop readiness) to ensure that workers are able to complete the required weekly hours. Workers will
not be scheduled to work a full 12-hour shift. Workers may offer additional hours beyond the standard schedule, subject to the mutual agreement of the
workers and management. Workers will receive a 30-minute lunch break, scheduled between 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and two 15-minute rest breaks, one
in the morning and one in the afternoon. The daily and weekly work schedules may vary due to weather, sunlight, temperature, crop conditions, orchard
conditions, and other agricultural factors. Workers will be notified of any schedule changes. The employer will provide one day of training and allow two
days of work for workers to demonstrate satisfactory performance of assigned duties. The employer will furnish, at no cost to the worker, all tools and
equipment required to perform assigned work. Workers must report to work wearing suitable clothing, be able to follow simple instructions in English, safely
operate equipment, maintain a positive work attitude, treat fellow workers and management respectfully, and refrain from using cell phones during working
hours except in emergencies or as authorized by management.
