Feedyard Trainee – Cattle, Feed, Mill or Yard Departments

Five Rivers Cattle Feeding; Dalhart (TX); On-site; USD 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Five Rivers Cattle Feeding is seeking a Feedyard Trainee for their operations in Dalhart, Texas. This role involves learning various department responsibilities, supervising employees, and ensuring compliance with safety regulations.

The ideal candidate should have an undergraduate degree and some related experience or training. Responsibilities include inspecting cattle, managing feed distribution, and maintaining records. The position offers exposure to a dynamic work environment and opportunities for growth within the management structure.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree and one to two years of related experience or equivalent.
• Ability to read and interpret safety rules and manuals.
• Valid driver's license required.

Responsibilities

• Learn department roles for management preparation.
• Supervise employees and manage responsibilities.
• Inspect incoming cattle for health and accuracy.

Skills

Knowledge of Word Processing software

Spreadsheet software

Database software

Mathematical concepts

Problem-solving

Education

Undergraduate degree

Job description

Job Title

Feedyard Trainee – Cattle, Feed, Mill, or Yard Departments

Reports To

Department Manager

FLSA Status

Hourly, Ag-exempt

Function

Learns department roles and responsibilities in preparation for a management role. Performs duties personally or through subordinates.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Other duties may be assigned.

• May supervise employees on a limited basis; carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with organizational policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
• Assigned duties as they pertain to specific departmental roles and responsibilities, including production job assignments in the area of experience and education for management preparation.
• Complies with applicable OSHA, FDA, and EPA regulations and maintains appropriate compliance records.
• Sets a positive example for employees by modeling safe work practices and following safety rules and policies. Communicates critical safety information to employees through regular safety training and monitors the workplace for unsafe or non‑compliant behavior.
• Participates in the development of department capital and operating budgets; manages expenses by studying historical data, anticipating needs, and researching costs.
• Manages department supplies inventory by researching costs, designing inventory systems, determining inventory levels, anticipating needed supplies, and approving orders.
• Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks, and participating in professional societies.

Cattle

• Inspects incoming loads of cattle for miscounts, sick animals, or other inconsistencies, checks in cattle, and records load information.
• Uses a horse to ride through assigned pens and identify sick animals by observing outward signs of distress; segregates sick cattle for treatment by driving them to the nearest hospital pen; reports deaths for removal.
• Moves and drives cattle in a low‑stress manner.
• Assists in shipping fat cattle by opening gates, driving cattle to shipping areas for weighing, counting cattle, separating strays, and checking withdrawals.
• Medically treats livestock according to protocols established by management and consulting veterinarians; administers treatment in a humane manner.
• Internally examines dead animals to determine cause of death and processes cattle by ear tagging, administering vaccines, implants, parasitics, and other preventive measures; sorts, re‑implants, mass‑treats, and re‑vaccinates cattle according to established protocol; administers vaccines and treatment per label specifications.
• Ensures that no animal leaves the facility without meeting applicable withdrawals by maintaining thorough and accurate records.

Feed

• Monitors cattle intake and assigns subsequent distribution of feed by familiarizing oneself with cattle eating patterns by gender, days on feed, weather, and breed; maximizes feed intake by following guidelines issued by consulting nutritionists.
• Ensures accurate feed delivery by monitoring feed bunks and assessing feed distribution, quantity, type, and timeliness.
• Ensures newly received cattle are fed promptly by coordinating feeding with the cattle department.
• Minimizes truck downtime by scheduling maintenance and repair; develops and implements a feed truck preventative maintenance program.
• Maintains cattle feeding records by compiling, entering, and analyzing information.
• Fills in when a driver is absent or as necessary by operating a feed truck, hay machine, or tractor.

Mill

• Minimizes mill downtime by completing maintenance requirements and scheduling maintenance and repair; develops and implements a mill preventative maintenance program.
• Monitors quality control of commodities received through regular inspection.
• Maintains quality of finished feed rations by using quality ingredients and following recommendations from consulting nutritionists.
• Complies with applicable OSHA, FDA, and EPA regulations and maintains appropriate compliance records.

Yard

• Identifies current and future maintenance requirements through communication with management and production personnel.
• Ensures operation of machinery and mechanical equipment by completing maintenance requirements for rolling stock, including feed trucks, tractors, and other heavy equipment, and scheduling maintenance and repair.
• Coordinates utility repairs with appropriate service providers and directs maintenance activities on water systems and tanks to provide a continuous supply of drinking water to livestock.
• Maintains fencing and gates by repairing damage in a timely manner.
• Maintains facility appearance by ensuring grass and weeds are mowed regularly and trash is properly disposed of.
• Plans and supervises all yard construction, renovation, and replacement projects.
• Maintains roads, pens, and alleys by filling in holes, controlling dust, and removing accumulated manure.
• Maintains environmental compliance and corresponding records per specified EPA guidelines; collects soil and water samples for testing.
• Utilizes best methods of planting, cultivation, harvesting, and knowledge of various climatic conditions on crops to ensure high yields; develops methods for control of noxious weeds, crop diseases, and insect pests.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree and one to two years of related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Knowledge of Word Processing software; Spreadsheet software and Database software.
• Valid driver’s license.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference. Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Competency

Expected to coordinate projects, manage difficult or emotional employee situations, participate in meetings, understand business implications of decisions, work within the approved budget, develop and implement cost‑saving measures, conserve organizational resources, demonstrate knowledge of EEO policy, adapt to changes in the work environment, exhibit sound and accurate judgment, observe safety and security procedures, and report potentially unsafe conditions.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The employee is regularly exposed to airborne particles and work near moving mechanical parts and outdoor weather conditions. Noise levels in some work environments can be loud. The employee may be required to climb or balance and is exposed to work in high, precarious places. Exposure to cattle and horses, equipment, and machinery. Manual labor may be assigned as part of on‑the‐job training for certain departments.

Physical Demands

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Mill employees are required to wear hard hats, eye, ear, and respiratory protection daily. PPE assigned per department requirements. Ability to lift, carry, push, pull, kneel, stand, sit, walk, run, bend, stoop, twist, reach above and below, climb, and grasp. In some cases when working around livestock, the ability to move quickly, jump, and climb is imperative.