General Ranch Hand

Job description

The General Farm Ranch Hand position will be required to perform a variety of duties related to the production of cattle and hay. Duties include the following: check physical characteristics of livestock, observe general condition of cattle and apply the appropriate care, examine animals to detect illness/injury/disease, rate of weight gain to determine delivery time, assist in delivery of calves, apply or administer medications/vaccines, mix feed/additives, feed/water livestock (when livestock are not grazing on native grasses and drinking from natural water sources during the warm growing season); place mineral blocks, drive equipment, follow grazing plan and herd livestock to various pastures accordingly, operate 4-wheeler and/or 2 wheel motor bike to move livestock; confine livestock in stalls, clean/disinfect livestock corrals/stalls/sheds, dock, castrate, brand, clip/tag and clamp livestock; and help prepare and assist with shipping calves. Worker will be required to operate farm equipment to plant and harvest hay, irrigate fields including install and remove irrigation pipe, lift/carry/move pipe, monitor flood irrigation and water supply, operate irrigation pivots, prioritize water use, maintain irrigation equipment and oversee operation of irrigation pumps, turn off irrigation systems and winterize all equipment and infrastructure; repair, replace and build barbed wire fence; use 4-wheeler and/or backpack to carry chemicals (Roundup & Banvel) to spray weeds; manually pick rocks, perform general cleanup of farm acreage, and drive/load/unload semi-trucks (on the ranch only). Worker must be willing to perform tasks capably and efficiently without close supervision, and live and work singly or in small groups of workers. The job entails working with farm animals and machinery, outdoors in all types of weather (extreme heat, wind, dust, rain, snow and below zero temperatures) and occasional exposure to herding hazards such as cattle stampedes and predators. Worker will be expected to keep vehicles and equipment and housing in clean condition. Worker must crouch, bend, lift and carry items weighing up to 100 pounds. A minimum of 3 months experience is required. Drivers License is required.

Due to a change in the operation of the ranch, the season of need has changed.
Itinerary:
January: Cattle are moved to Winter Range close to ranch headquarters. Full feed daily. Open water daily. Prepare machinery and equipment for upcoming season.
February: Preparing for calving. Start working all of the cows to prep for calving. We bangs our heifers and retag them. Get the barn ready, plowing lots and blow out the corrals.
March: Calving – repair corrals as necessary.
April: Check calves, cows and yearlings daily. Checking on health of pairs and yearlings. Repairing corrals as necessary, starting to check spring pasture fences. Brand cattle
May: Begin preparing for farming by dragging meadows and preparing the Fields for irrigation. We are checking pivots getting them ready to turn on. Check summer pasture fences.

Special Requirements

Some night shifts during calving will be needed. Longer days during irrigating and haying seasons