Dairy Farm Jobs
Like Animals, Outdoors And Hard Work? Dairy Farm Jobs May Be Your Perfect Career Path
A campaign called “Go Dairy” in New Zealand, which began in 2006, helped to increase serious inquiries for dairy farm jobs by approximately 20 percent in its first year. The inquiries were predominately from trades’ people. Other interested parties included workers in construction and service jobs. Go Dairy is not an employment agency but rather a source of information for promotion of dairy farm jobs.
A career in dairy farming may appeal to you because you want to be your own boss, work outdoors, or with animals. Some demands of the work you should consider are the diverse tasks you will do on any given day, from fixing a tractor to caring for a new calf. The work is physically demanding, more so than just about any other career. Do you like to wake up early? It is a must in this career field.
The following are some areas of interest that may match your own, and next to them are possible corresponding dairy farm jobs.
Working outdoors, operating machinery, contact with animals: Assistant manager of dairy, dairy farmhand, general farmhand, dairy apprentice
Working in an ever changing situation, specializing in a skilled area: contract farmer, herd manager, milking manager, pasture manager
Working with computers, owning and/or managing things, production of products for the marketplace: Farm owner, farm manager, production manager, farm business manager
One way to summarize dairy farms jobs is, if you prefer a large business operation, and doing highly specialized job functions, a larger commercial farm is best. They typically have 500 cows or more. Alternatively, If you like to know a little of everything and have a sense that you are part of all the farm’s activities a small or family farm would suit you best. To see if that may be your idea of a great career, check out this typical day at a family run dairy farm.
5 a.m.- ride on a motor bike to bring in the cows for milking
6 a.m. - as cows enter the milking shed, they will be observed for any health problems. Animals’ needs are tended to if minor, or a vet is called in cases of serious injury or illness. And it is milking time.
7 a.m. - milking is done and the area is cleaned and hosed, then it’s time for breakfast at 8 a.m.
9 a.m. - chores: indoors - planning, scheduling, equipment rental arrangements, or outdoors - feeding cattle, maintenance of fences and equipment, upkeep in paddocks (areas where cattle graze) such as spraying for weeds
After lunch, chores continue - growth and harvest of paddocks, animal care, milk testing, and more office work including bookkeeping, contacts to people in complementary industries to arrange services or product purchases, and production planning.
2 p.m. - bring in cows for milking. It takes 10 minutes per cow to milk. Everyone helps with milking. After that, the cows must be herded back to paddocks, and the shed cleaned and hosed again, same as in the morning.
At 5 p.m., the day will end, unless it is the time of year for cows to have calves. If so, you may need to observe and assist with calving cows. You may also need to get up in the night to help with a calving, since cows don’t give birth on a schedule.
Education required for dairy farm jobs or careers may include a Certificate in Agriculture, from level II to IV, and at the top rungs of the ladder, you may need to earn a Diploma or Advanced Diploma of Agriculture. Farmers in this industry seem to obtain immense satisfaction from the work, whether in the family or industrialized setting.