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Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Attend to live farm, ranch, open range or aquacultural animals that may include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses and other equines, poultry, rabbits, finfish, shellfish, and bees. Attend to animals produced for animal products, such as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. Duties may include feeding, watering, herding, grazing, milking, castrating, branding, de-beaking, weighing, catching, and loading animals. May maintain records on animals; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; assist in birth deliveries; and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides as appropriate. May clean and maintain animal housing areas. Includes workers who shear wool from sheep and collect eggs in hatcheries.

Related: Agricultural Equipment Operators Animal Breeders Farmworkers & Laborers, Crop, Nursery, & Greenhouse Meat, Poultry, & Fish Cutters & Trimmers Slaughterers & Meat Packers

Industries: Farming, Forestry, Fishing, & Hunting

Summary
Details

Spray livestock with disinfectants and insecticides, or dip or bathe animals.
Order food for animals, and arrange for its delivery.
Clean stalls, pens, and equipment, using disinfectant solutions, brushes, shovels, water hoses, or pumps.
Mix feed, additives, and medicines in prescribed portions.
Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition.
Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies.
Maintain growth, feeding, production, and cost records.
Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment.
Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain.
Shift animals between grazing areas to ensure that they have sufficient access to food.
Patrol grazing lands on horseback or using all-terrain vehicles.
Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos.
Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals.
Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
Protect herds from predators, using trained dogs.
Perform duties related to livestock reproduction, such as breeding animals within appropriate timeframes, performing artificial inseminations, and helping with animal births.
Inspect, maintain, and repair equipment, machinery, buildings, pens, yards, and fences.
Move equipment, poultry, or livestock from one location to another, manually or using trucks or carts.
Groom, clip, trim, or castrate animals, dock ears and tails, or shear coats to collect hair.

Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.

Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

43540/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

20.93/hr

Currently Employed

6,050

Yearly Projected Openings

920

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Independence
Adaptability/Flexibility
Attention to Detail
Integrity
Initiative

Agricultural tractors
All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled
Animal husbandry equipment
Animal shearing or clipping equipment
Animal watering machines
Animal weighing scales
Backhoes
Blood collection syringes
Bridles
Claw hammer
Conveyor screw
Desktop computers
Egg inspection or collecting equipment
Feed mixers
Fog or mist generators
Grease guns
Hand sprayers
Hand trucks or accessories
Incubators or brooders for poultry
Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
Livestock identification equipment
Livestock trailers
Milking machines
Nebulizers
Notebook computers
Post hole digger
Power drills
Power saws
Respirators
Saddles
Shovels
Skid steer loaders
Snowplow attachments
Veterinary castration instruments
Veterinary injection or suction unit
Veterinary nail trimmers or cutters

Data base user interface and query software
Internet browser software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals

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