Pumpkin Picker

Howell's Greenhouse & Pumpkin Patch is hiring for the Pumpkin Picker position in Cumming, IA. This hands-on role supports the operation's day-to-day production and care work. Reliable execution and early communication matter because the work directly affects plants, animals, equipment, coworkers, customers, or the surrounding property. What you will do • Seed, transplant, cultivate, irrigate, harvest, wash, pack, and store crops according to the farm's plan and food-safety procedures. • Use and care for assigned hand tools, wash-pack equipment, carts, and field equipment within training. • Monitor crops and communicate pest, disease, water, weather, quality, or harvest-timing concerns promptly. • Pick pumpkins at the maturity and quality standard demonstrated by the farm lead and handle stems and fruit carefully to avoid preventable damage. • Move harvested pumpkins into the assigned wagons, bins, staging, weighing, or display areas while keeping varieties and saleable product organized. • Maintain orderly field lanes and picking areas and communicate crop damage, unsafe ground, low supplies, or harvest-quality questions promptly. How the work fits together Farm priorities follow crop condition, weather, harvest commitments, and customer orders. The crew checks urgent irrigation and harvest needs first, then moves through field production, post-harvest handling, accurate packing, storage, and cleanup. Each employee's work affects both crop life and the quality customers receive. At Howell's Greenhouse & Pumpkin Patch, the employer also makes these role-specific priorities clear: Pick pumpkins at the maturity and quality standard demonstrated by the farm lead and handle stems and fruit carefully to avoid preventable damage. Move harvested pumpkins into the assigned wagons, bins, staging, weighing, or display areas while keeping varieties and saleable product organized. Maintain orderly field lanes and picking areas and communicate crop damage, unsafe ground, low supplies, or harvest-quality questions promptly. What the employer is looking for • Applicants must be at least 15 and the employer asks for reliable, honest, responsible, friendly, and energetic people. • Readiness for active outdoor farm work and for courteous interaction with visitors or other farm departments when the harvest crew is asked to assist. • Dependable attendance, direct communication, and willingness to follow the employer's safety, quality, and customer- or production-care procedures. • Ability to complete the role's active, in-person work and to ask for instruction before using unfamiliar tools, equipment, products, or animal-handling methods. Schedule, conditions, and compensation The published weekday schedule is 8:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m. during the September 8–October 31 fall season. Howell's does not state a numeric wage or conventional benefits for Pumpkin Picker; applicants should confirm the exact assigned days. The employer does not publish a numeric wage range on this page, so no compensation has been estimated. Applicants should confirm the final hours, overtime treatment, starting assignment, travel or reporting point, supplied equipment, and benefit eligibility directly with the employer before accepting an offer. This is an in-person agricultural production position with a small operation. Daily priorities can change with weather, plant or animal condition, equipment availability, customer schedules, and the season. The successful person should arrive ready to work, communicate early when a task or condition is unclear, follow the employer's safety and quality procedures, and leave tools, vehicles, production areas, and job sites secure and ready for the next shift. Applicants should expect active work that may include long periods of standing or walking, bending, lifting, repetitive hand tasks, noise, dust, mud, pollen, heat, cold, rain, or work around moving equipment. The exact physical demands differ by assignment. Candidates should discuss any accommodation needs with the employer and confirm the final schedule, overtime treatment, training period, travel expectations, and benefit eligibility before accepting an offer. Only compensation and benefits expressly published by the employer are included here; unpublished terms have not been estimated. How to apply Complete the application linked from Howell's direct employment page and select Pumpkin Picker among the fall weekday positions.