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regions and crops. The work is always seasonal and cyclical and requires a lot of stamina. Whatever the crop being sown, the soil must usually be tilled first, the fruit or vegetable planted, the field irrigated and fertilized, and the crop tended carefully to eradicate weeds and pests. It is a lot of work! Most farmworkers start their workday at sunrise and finish at sunset in order to take advantage of all available daylight. This means that you will be traveling to and from work in darkness. Employers differ in the accommodations they offer workers, so seek one that provides access to food, water, shelter from the elements, and bathroom facilities. Farmworkers must take precautions to avoid both sunburn and sunstroke. In early spring or autumn, cold, wind, and rain can also be factors in your day. As noted above, the work of farmworkers changes with the growing cycle of the crop. Harvesting is usually the busiest time, when you may be asked to put in extra hours to be sure all of the crop is picked and packed for shipping at the appropriate point of ripeness. Harvesting of delicate fruits is still done by hand, but certain crops are harvested by ma- chines. You might be taught how to drive a tractor and how to use farm equipment like a thresher , skills that can be essential to your future advancement. Most likely you will work on a crew that will function like an assembly line, with each worker having a specific p  Farmworkers harvest crops in different ways. Some will pick by hand while others will use large machinery. Farmworker  • 11