dairy farm worker

Work site environment

• Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots
• Corn farming
• Hay farming
• Outdoors
• Confined spaces
• Wet/damp
• Noisy
• Odours
• Dusty
• Hot
• Cold/refrigerated
• Livestock
• Grain, oil and forage crop

Work setting

• Rural area
• Dairy

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Calving
• Cattle training
• Handling animals
• Monitoring animal health
• Weaning
• Feed and tend animals
• Operate and maintain farm machinery and equipment
• Milk cows
• Clean stables, barns, barnyards and pens
• Detect disease and health problems in crops, livestock and poultry
• Set and monitor water lines, air flow and temperature in barns, pens and chicken coops
• Recognize and treat certain livestock health problems
• Perform general farm duties
• Maintain quality control and production records
• Maintain work records and logs
• Maintain livestock performance records
• Provide agricultural livestock services such as artificial insemination, spraying or shearing of livestock or disinfecting pens, barns or poultry houses
• Assist in the development and implementation of farm safety and bio-security procedures
• Ensure farm safety and bio-security procedures are followed

Credentials

Certificates, licences, memberships, and courses 

• First Aid Certificate

Experience and specialization

Equipment and machinery experience

• Hand tools
• Automated manure handling or storage system

Automated systems experience

• Milking system (automated)
• Feeding and watering system

Area of specialization

• Dairy cattle
• Beef cattle

Additional information

Transportation/travel information

• Own transportation

Work conditions and physical capabilities

• Fast-paced environment
• Work under pressure
• Tight deadlines
• Repetitive tasks
• Handling heavy loads
• Physically demanding
• Attention to detail
• Hand-eye co-ordination
• Ability to distinguish between colours
• Sound discrimination
• Combination of sitting, standing, walking
• Standing for extended periods
• Walking
• Bending, crouching, kneeling
• Large workload

Personal suitability

• Efficient interpersonal skills
• Flexibility
• Judgement
• Organized
• Team player
• Excellent oral communication
• Excellent written communication