On-Farm Dairy Careers

Dairy Assistants feed, care for and milk herds of cows on farms. They aim to get the cows to produce as much high-quality milk as possible, cost-effectively. This job can be ideal fro someone with minimal to no dairy farming experience at all.
 
A Dairy Hand or Farm Assistant may do any or all of the following and more in any given day: milk the cows once or twice a day; bring the cows in for milking; wash the milking plant and clean the yard after milking; assist with breeding of the herd; general farm maintenance such as fencing and spraying weeds; assist with animal health; assist with calving; rear calves and prepare them to milk in the herd.

Is it for me?
If you like working outdoors and don't mind getting a bit dirty or smelly working on a dairy farm could be for you. This is an ideal role for fit people that enjoy working with animals and are looking to progress in a booming industry.
 
How to get there:
At least three years of secondary school education is recommended and useful subjects include economics, agriculture, accounting and maths.
There are no specific requirements to becoming a Dairy Hand, but it can help to get some experience relief milking when you're at school or during the summer holidays (this is when casual workers come and milk the cows when full-time workers have their days off).
 
Hours:
Hours will vary depending on the scale of the dairy farm, but will often be 5am to 5pm with time off for breakfast and lunch. Different farms run different rosters for work but you will definitely have to work some weekends.
 
Chance of employment:
The dairy industry has seen great expansion in the number and scale of farms in the last few years. There's a shortage in dairy workers so chances of employment are very high.
 
Pay:
The average pay for Dairy Hands is $33,738 a year plus benefits that could include free accommodation, power, some meals and farm-killed meat.

Usually after one to two years' experience on farm you should be ready for a managerial role. The first step is to become a Herd Manager and further management opportunities will arise with extra experience.  A Management role in dairy requires a strong understanding of basic farming skills and taking on the responsibility of stock management and understanding seasonal timing of tasks and duties. Farm managers are responsible for the farm's day-to-day operation. Depending on the size of the herd, the farm manager or senior herd manager may be in charge of staff members.

Managers may do any or all of the following and more: staff management; day to day running of the farm; milking cows; cleaning the milking plant and the yard; organise breeding and mating of the herd; plan and manage the amount and type of food the herd eats; manage animal health; keep financial and farming records and create the farm business plan; manage calving; maintain optimum soil fertility.

 
TYPES OF JOBS:

• Herd Manager
• Senior Herd Manager
• Farm Manager

Is it for me?
If you enjoy the extra responsibility that comes with managing staff or stock and enjoy working outside and don't mind getting up early and working long hours at times; then a management role in the dairy industry could be for you.

How to get there:
At least three years of secondary school education is recommended and useful subjects include economics, agriculture, accounting and maths.
An agricultural qualification is highly recommended if you wish to pursue a career in management. You will also need experience working on dairy farms to be considered for a management position.

Hours:
You can expect to work 12 hour days in the busy seasons, often starting around 5am with time off for breakfast and lunch.

Chance of employment:
Chances of getting a job as a dairy farmer are high. The dairy industry is growing, and continues to be short of workers, from new entrants to experienced managers. The Department of Labour estimates about 25,500 people were working on dairy farms in March 2010, which is 12% higher than in 2005. However, this is still not enough to fill all vacancies. Between 2,000 and 4,000 new recruits are needed each year just to cover retirements, staff turnover, and the development of new dairy farms.

Pay:
Depending of the level of responsibility, size of the herd and seniority of the position, a managerial role in dairying could earn anywhere between $40,000 to $75,000 on average a year. There are often benefits on top of this salary that may include housing, subsidised power and petrol, some meals and sometimes farm killed meat.

  Sharemilkers and Contract Milkers do not own the land they operate on. The may either own the herd and their equipment or manage someone else's; they receive a percentage of the profits. A Sharemilker owns their own herd and farming equipment; most commonly they have a 50/50 contract which means that the land owner and the sharemilker split the profits and some of the costs. A Contract Milker is self-employed and manages the owner's cows and land which getting a percentage of the money earned from supplying milk to the dairy company.

 
A Sharemilker or Contract Milker may do any or all of the following and more: day to day running of the farm; milking cows; cleaning the milking plant and the yard; organise breeding and mating of the herd; plan and manage the amount and type of food the herd eats; manage animal health; keep financial and farming records and create the farm business plan; manage calving; maintain optimum soil fertility.

TYPES OF JOBS

• Sharemilker
• Contract Milker

Is it for me?
If you enjoy the extra responsibility that comes with managing staff or stock and enjoy working outside and don't mind getting up early and working long hours at times; then a management role in the dairy industry could be for you.

How to get there:
At least three years of secondary school education is recommended and useful subjects include economics, agriculture, accounting and maths.
To become a Sharemilker you will need to own your own herd and equipment. Most commonly people become Sharemilkers by progressing through from a Dairy Assistant on to a Herd and Farm Manager and start procuring assets along the way

Hours:
You can expect to work 12 hour days in the busy seasons, often starting around 5am with time off for breakfast and lunch. This will also depend on the number of staff you have employed.

Pay:
The earning potential of a Sharemilker or Contract Milker is much much higher than other dairy farm workers. A Sharemilker's average earnings before tax and the cost of the running farm is on average around $500,000 depending on the milk pay out from year to year.

Farmers in both of these roles own and operate their own farm business.