Open Range Livestock Herder
Employer
3216 N 4100 W
Cedar City, UT 84721
United States
Job description
By the end of May or 1st of June, the sheep are moved to the lower basin on Kanarraville Mountain in Utah from Cedar City, starting at the lowest point, with sheep trailing from farm fields and brush. This takes approximately three days. Once there, sheep need to be tended to constantly to keep them from scattering and also to protect them from predators. Herders have a horse and a 4-wheeler to bring them to bed each night to keep them safe by camp. We also have four guard dogs to help fight off predators and three herding dogs to help with sheep. Each dog needs to be fed separately in a pen a rea that they can get under but need to make sure that the sheep cannot get under the fence. Otherwise, sheep will eat the dog's food. The constant moving of sheep is needed so that they do not overgraze. There are three grazing locations, Kanarra lower basin, Kanarra upper basin, and Cedar Mountain. In each of these areas, we are required to move the sheep from pasture to pasture to prevent overgrazing. The sheep will need to be moved every 1, 2 or 3 weeks, depending on the amount of feed in the area. The distance from Kanarra lower basin to Cedar Mountain is approximately 20 miles, and sheep are trailed from each of these grazing locations.
Fencing is needed to keep sheep on our property, and fencing has to be put up and down seasonally due to deep snow in the winter. In drought years, trailing to water and back each day may be needed. Moving camp consists of moving sheep, food for dogs, salt, putting up fence, and letting fences back down.
Fallen trees may need to be removed so that sheep do not mix with neighboring flocks. If sheep mix with neighboring flocks, they need to be trailed to the closest corral to be resorted.
Ensuring the sheep bed down near the camp is an essential duty. Sheep often trail away and it is essential that the worker is alert at all hours. Sheep are moved off of high country in late October to November, depending on feed, moving to the brush out from Cedar City. When feed is done there, we go out to Rachel, Nevada, where we feed off hay pivots. Electric fence is placed to keep them in. The water trough has to be moved each day to keep sheep from trailing too much in one spot. The bucks need to have blood drawn to make sure they have no disease, along with trimming hoofs so as not to lame the bucks.
The Open Range Livestock Herder will be required to be On-Call 24/7 and live and work on the range more than 50% of the time. Must be able to ride and handle horses in a manner to assure the safety of the worker, co-workers and livestock. Employee must be willing to perform tasks capably and efficiently without close supervision, and live and work singly or in small groups of workers in isolated areas for extended periods of time. The job may entail operating a 4-wheeler for movement of livestock. Worker must be able to lift and carry items weighing up to 100 pounds. Most duties are performed out-of-doors and entail exposure to extreme heat and cold; dust, rain, snow, and wind; and herding hazards; poisonous snakes and predators common in range lands. General supervision will be provided by the ranch owner.
Special Requirements
None