[Amill]

Do you cultivate saffron flowers?

Are you a truffle hunter?

[pjmpjm]

Do you drive some kind of vehicle while performing this job?

[ElleKing]

Do you harvest vegetables?

[Mickey101]

The plant that you harvest is classified among Poaceae (family of grasses)?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poaceae

[BambieReader]

do you harvest tomatoes?

[hiemdal]

Do you harvest coffee beans?

[ElleKing]

Do you harvest a kind of fruit?

Are you a cherry picker?

[BambieReader]

do you harvest grapes with a mechanical picker?

[hiemdal]

Does your vehicle travel mostly on the land (as opposed to air or sea)?

Grape Harvester Driver

I am a grape harvester driver. During the grape harvesting season (about four months per year), I drive a huge machine up and down rows of vines. The harvester contains sets of vibrating curved rods that shake the grapes off the vines.

I often have an assistant walking behind the machine and occasionally clambering onto and leaning into the machine, to make sure everything is working smoothly, not getting too hot (or things will break) and to remove canes (vine sticks) and any other detritus to prevent blockages. The assistant also moves a “marker” along each row of vines, so I can see which row needs to be done next. For shorter jobs, an assistant is not essential.

I usually start work early, before sunrise, as scorching hot afternoon temperatures alter the sugar levels of grapes, affecting the fermentation process. Some vineyard owners hire me to work nights only, as the grapes are cooler and firmer, which facilitates fermentation, possibly leading to better wine.

Why use a huge machine? Because it’s cheaper than hand-picking. In the old days, a vineyard owner might be paying a crew of 25 pickers up to $15 each per hour to harvest 1 hectare of grapes over seven hours. That’s $2,625 to harvest just one hectare of grapes. Whereas a grape harvester machine can do one hectare in two hours for about $100 (more or less) per hour.

There are two types of grape harvesters: (1) self-propelled and (2) tractor-pulled. They have fans and rotating blades to isolate, cut up and remove leaves, while conveyor belts deliver the grapes to a container on a parallel trailer pulled by tractor.

At the start of each work session, the vineyard owner/manager will be there to make sure I harvest the right grapes and know where to stop. And at the end of a session, they will usually tell me the weight of the harvest and chat about the grape market.

Strictly speaking, I am not a vintner (as guessed by ElleKing) as I do not produce or sell wine; that is done by the vineyard owners and wine-makers. I merely harvest grapes. Sometimes I am paid just to harvest grapes straight onto the ground. A terrible waste, you might think.

The wine business is like this: Many vineyard owners supply grapes to major wineries, rather than making the wine themselves. They are often at the mercy of fickle changes in tastes. Twenty years ago, chardonnay (for example) was a hugely popular wine, but it’s now as popular as cat pee. So, some chardonnay growers find it difficult to sell their grapes. In a bumper year, when everyone has abundant harvests, there may be zero demand for chardonnay (and other unfashionable varieties). But the grapes still have to be harvested because if they remain on the vines, they become moldy, leading to a blight that can seriously damage the vines. Hence, I might get a call from a despairing vineyard owner, asking me to harvest a few hectares of over-ripe chardonnay onto the ground. When this happens, I always offer a much, much lower hourly rate, as no one likes to see a viticulturist suffering. Their success is my success. Some will end up chopping the tops off “unpopular” vines and then graft on more trendy varieties.

After completing a harvest, I have to clean the machine. This is almost always done on-site with a high-pressure hose (often using a small 4-stroke motor pump). It takes about 40 minutes to get everything spotless. Then it’s necessary to test the nuts and bolts, and grease the necessary components, check the tires, etc.

Note: You can only enjoy stuffing your face with ripe grapes for about six hours, after which your stomach may protest. The work may become monotonous but it beats sitting at a desk in front of a computer and dealing with humans. In some seasons, caterpillars infest the vines and are harvested with the grapes and go into the wine. This is invariably described as "a unique seasonal fruity variation" or some such nonsense so beloved by pretentious wine marketers.


Congrats, thebomb!

[raindrops]

thebomb found the answer in 4 questions which earns 20 WRZ$ and may run the next round.
mandarintintin tortured everyone for 54 questions and gets 270 WRZ$.
thebomb is invited to be the next guest after sending me a pm with his new occupation for approval...

[BambieReader]

Round 32

Q & A
01.ElleKing- Is it a real and currently existing occupation? YES
02.hiemdal- Is your occupation in that picture? NO
03.Amill-It's a country or region specific job? NO
04.spiritofchaos-Was this an occupation 100 years ago? YES
05.godfatherfreak- is it a common occupation? NO
06.pjmpjm-Was this job traditionally done by women? NO as far as I know of
07.mandarintintin-Do you work with animals? NO
08.ElleKing-Is this occupation part of the third sector of the economy? NO
09.Mickey101-Do you wear uniform? NO
10.spiritofchaos-Is it a gender specific occupation?NO **
11.pjmpjm-Do you mainly work outdoors?YES
12.ElleKing-Do you need to know how to drive a vehicle to do this job? Cannot answer with yes or no
13.Mickey101-Is this job dangerous? YES
14.hiemdal- Do you use a whip or a paddle (at work, I mean)? NO
15.mandarintintin-Is your work related to mining? NO
16.pjmpjm-Do you work in the timber industry? NO
17.yousofine- Does your occupation require you to be physically fit? YES
18.ElleKing-Do you sell things? NO
19.spiritofchaos-Do you build something? NO
20.mandarintintin-Does your work require special clothing? YES
21.pjmpjm-Do you work for any kind of government agency? hmm I'll have to go with YES
22.Mickey101-Do you work outside city area? Cannot answer with yes or no
23.spiritofchaos- see Q7 [NO]
24.mandarintintin- Do you have to carry or operate a weapon as part of the job? Cannot answer with yes or no
25.Amill-Are you a fireman? NO
26.pjmpjm-Is your occupation connected with the military? Cannot answer with yes or no
27.Mickey101-Are you some kind of mechanic or engineer? NO
28.hiemdal-Are you an Exterminator? NO
29.mandarintintin-Are you a eunuch? NO
30.spiritofchaos-Are you part of the police? NO
31.Mickey101-Do you work all year long (not seasonal)? NO
32.pjmpjm-Do you provide security services for a Royal Family? Cannot answer with yes or no
33.mandarintintin-Does your work involve aircraft? Cannot answer with yes or no
34.spiritofchaos-Are you an Atholl Highlander? NO
35.Do you manufacture/produce something? NO
36.Do you work in very cold weather? Cannot answer with yes or no
37.hiemdal-Are you a security guard? NO
38.mandarintintin-Does this job cause indecisiveness, rendering you incapable of answering simple questions with a "yes" or a "no"? I wouldn't say indecisiveness, sorry but YES
39.pjmpjm-Do you actually get paid to do this job? OH yeah YES
40.Mickey101-Are you some kind of spy or secret agent? Cannot answer with yes or no
41.godfatherfreak-do you clean the windows of tall buildings? NO
42.mandarintintin-Are you a member of The A-Team? NO
42.spiritofchaos-Are you a mercenary?sorta yes ***
43.nantenia-is your job involved with the conservation/exploitation of nature(animals,forest,natural resources)? NO
44.julithefabulous-are a stone mason? Stonemasonry? NO
45.pjmpjm-Do you foreign (out-of-country) work for a subcontractor or agency that does tasks for a government? not exactly, NO
46.hiemdal-bodyguard? NO
47.spiritofchaos-Astronaut? NO
48.mandarintintin-Is your occupation linked to the use of explosives? it could be, YES
49.Mickey101-Does your work require travel? sometime? YES
50.hiemdal-SAS? NO
51-spiritofchaos-Do you usually work as part of a team/troop? NO
52.pjmpjm-Are you a bomb disposal or mine removal expert? NO
53.Mickey101-Is this job legal? NO
54.hiemdal-Are you a hit man? YESSS


** and *** sorry about the really late edit, I only just realized I could be wrong, so but most answers still apply anyway regardless.
thank you for your patience and your participation
I hope someone figures it out

[ElleKing]

Is it a real and currently existing occupation?