Farming, fishing and forestry
Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals
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.
Median pay
$36,670
Growth to 2035
−3%
declining
Openings a year
26,600
Time to qualify*
1 month
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
Calculate your switch to farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Exposure to disease
Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals: 42% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies.
- Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
- Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain.
- Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment.
- Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos.
- Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals.
- Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition.
- Inspect, maintain, and repair equipment, machinery, buildings, pens, yards, and fences.
Also called: Cowboy · Farm Hand · Farrowing Worker · Herdsman · Livestock Handler · Milking Worker · Ranch Hand · Rancher
Outlook and AI
Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals held 202,100 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 195,700 by 2035 (−3%, declining; all jobs: +3.5%).
Capital/labor substitution - share decreases as the mechanization of agricultural operations is expected to reduce demand for these workers, with a corresponding increase in demand for agricultural equipment operators.
Compare with
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals vs. Animal breeder
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals vs. Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals vs. Agricultural equipment operator
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals vs. Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals vs. Slaughterers and meat packers
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals vs. Graders and sorters, agricultural products
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals vs. Agricultural technician
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals vs. First-line supervisors of farming, fishing, and forestry workers
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals vs. Animal caretaker
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals vs. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand