This is a great opportunity for a dedicated stockperson to work alongside the owner, focussing on day to day cow care. This is a new position as a result of the owner wanting more time to focus on the farm in general and reduce reliance on relief labour. The herd calves predominantly in late summer and autumn, with replacements reared on a rented farm nearby. The herd is well bred, with a focus on health and fertility, and milk solids to match the cooperative milk supply requirements for cheese. This role could suit a well motivated younger person wishing to take on increasing responsibility over the next 5 years or an older person wishing to get back to manging a more moderate herd size with a focus on managing cows not staff.
Responsibilities will include milking, day to day herd care, fresh cow checks (CowManager Tag System in place), management of freshly calved cows, urgent footcare and record keeping (Uniform Agri Software), overseeing calves and supervising / training relief milkers. Likely working pattern (negotiable and flexible) is 10-11 days/fortnight with every other weekend off and a friday or monday off next to the working weekend. The owner also milks regularly and would cover the other weekend and day off along with relief staff. Morning milkings on days on and some PM milkings depending of other tasks. This is a family friendly role and the focus is on looking after the herd rather than being pushed to do other tasks. Tractor work is carried out by existing staff and contractors, so aside from occasional feeding or bedding duties, this is a cow focussed role.
Feeding is based on high quality multicut grass silage, and wholecrop, fodder beet and a blend fed as a TMR with no parlour feeding. The mid and late lactation cows graze by day for up to 6m of the year depending on grass growth. The herd is milked 2x through a 20/40 DeLaval Parlour with a lead and a 2nd milker at all times. The cows are housed in sawdust bedded cubicles with autoscrapers/slats. Genus RMS look after repro, supported by the vets who do weekly or fortnightly routine visits depending on time of year. The hoof-trimmer visits monthly to do all routine foot work and mobility scoring. An independent consultant looks after herd nutrition and costings, etc. The herd averages 10,000 litres/cow sold with 4.15% Butterfat and 3.4% protein and SCC 92. There is a real focus on dry cow management with calving cows housed on sand beds in a dedicated dry cow unit on a separate farm - transition cow health is excellent, thanks to the focus on consistet dry cow management. The successful applicant will have a passion for cows, preventative health management and getting the best from well bred cows.
There is a 2 bedroom bungalow awavailable for the successful applicant, this is located around 1 mile from the farm.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £35,000.00-£40,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Borth SY24 5LY: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Education:
- GCSE or equivalent (required)
Experience:
- Dairy herd: 3 years (required)
Language:
- English (required)
Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
Reference ID: GWHDairy
Expected start date: 01/10/2025
