This is a Full-Time, Seasonal position located in Manton, Michigan.
Duration of job is 04/15/2013-12/10/2013. Must be available to work for the entire period.
Hours per week: 40
Licensed housing will be provided without cost to workers who cannot reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the workday.
Tools and Equipment: The employer will furnish, without charge, all tools, supplies, and equipment required in the performance of the specified work. Workers will be charged for any willful damage or loss of such tools and equipment.
Planting, cultivating, and harvesting Christmas trees on a Christmas tree farm. Removes brush, ferns, and other growth from planting area using tractor, mattock, and brush hook. Plants seedlings, using mattock or dibble. May scatter fertilizer pellets over planted area by hand. Shears tops and limb tips from trees, as specified by supervisor to control growth, increase limb density, and improve shape. May spray herbicides or pesticides. Selects trees for cutting according to markings or size, species, and grade, and fells trees using ax or chain saw. Drags out cut trees from cutting area, runs trees through tree bailer, and loads trees into trucks for transport. May do other minor activities in shrubbery.
Selects Christmas trees for cutting according to markings or size, species, and grade as directed by the grower or supervisor. Will cut trees using chain saw or axe as directed by grower or supervisor. Will drag trees that range in weight from 50 to 100 lbs. from cutting area to field loading area and lift onto mechanical tree bailer to be bailed. Will load trees onto field trucks or trailers for transport to a central staging area where trees will be unloaded, sorted and grouped according to size, species and quality specifications as directed by the rower or supervisor. May drive trucks or tractors on an incidental basis as is the norm in the industry, in and around the field or from the field to central loading areas. Workers will load Christmas trees into box trailers for shipment to market according to supervisor’s instructions. Workers must exercise care not to break or damage limbs of trees when working around and handling trees.
GENERAL CONDITIONS: Fieldwork begins at assigned time shortly after daylight. Work is considered heavy labor. Work is physically challenging and will be performed in steep mountainous terrain in varying weather that includes, but is not limited to cold, rain, snow, and sleet with temperatures ranging from 85+ degrees to 20 degrees F. Must be able to stand, bend, reach, cut and pull weeds and felled Christmas trees for the entire work period each day. Workers will work on their feet in bent position for long periods of time. Employees must be able to frequently lift trees. Workers should be able to lift trees ranging in weight from 20 to 50 pounds, and occasionally lift trees weighing up to 100 pounds. Employer will provide all safety and special equipment when needed. Worker will supply their own work clothes.
Worker must possess requisite physical strength and endurance to repeat the harvest process through out the workday, working quickly and skillfully to perform activities for which they were hired. Workers must work at a sustained, vigorous pace and make bona fide efforts to work efficiently and consistently that are reasonable under the climatic and other working conditions, considering also the amount, quality, and efficiency of work accomplished by their coworkers. Workers may not leave trash, or other discarded items in work areas or vehicles but must dispose of such items in provided receptacles. Workers must wash hands with soap and water after all bathroom and meal breaks. Allergies to varieties of ragweed, goldenrod, insecticides, related agricultural chemicals, etc, may affect workers ability to perform the work described herein. Workers should be physically able to do the worker described with or without reasonable accommodations.
All the tasks in this Job Description constitute one (1) job; the employer may assign workers to different tasks on any day or to multiple tasks during the same day in the sole judgment of the employer. Workers may be required to perform work, on the farm, that is incidental to farming the crops listed in the application, such as performing hand cultivation tasks, making wreaths, and greenery accessories, weeding or hoeing, cleaning and repairing farm building, ground, set up and move irrigation pipes and equipment, gardening, weeding and shrubbing, etc. This is a very demanding and competitive business in which quality specifications must be rigorously adhered to.
