Pig Production Technician

Preferred Capital Management; Staples (MN); On-site; USD 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Preferred Capital Management in Minnesota is seeking a hands-on farm animal care worker to uphold humane animal treatment and strict bio-security. You will support feeding, health monitoring, and daily farm operations, including vaccinations, cleaning, and record-keeping.

The role involves handling piglets, sows, and related tasks in a busy barn environment. The ideal candidate demonstrates reliability, teamwork, and safety consciousness, with the ability to operate equipment such as a skid

Qualifications

• Respect and care for animals.
• Ability to work effectively on a team.
• Demonstrates initiative and time-management skills.
• Safety oriented.
• Experience operating farm equipment (e.g., skid steer) or a valid driver's license may be required.

Responsibilities

• Ensure the humane treatment of animals.
• Follow farm bio-security protocols.
• Monitor feeding systems and ensure animals are fed and watered according to protocols.
• Maintain animal health and care.
• Perform routine vaccinations and injections as directed.
• General facility cleaning, maintenance and hygiene.
• Power wash per cleaning and disinfection processes and ensure equipment is safe and functional.
• Record production data accurately and maintain documentation.
• Communicate hazards and near misses to supervisors.
• Assist with heat checking and breeding/insemination processes.
• Monitor and care for pregnant sows.
• Wean piglets and move animals between barns.
• Prepare farrow rooms and assist with farrowing and day-one pig care.
• Assist with piglet fostering and castration.
• Adjust heat lamps and heat mats as required.

Skills

Animal care

Teamwork

Time management

Safety awareness

Skid steer operation

Driver's license

Tools

Skid steer

Driver's license

Job description

• Ensure the highest standards of the humane treatment of animals.
• Follow the farm’s bio-security protocols at all times.
• Monitor and assist with feeding systems and ensure animals are fed and watered according to respective protocols
• Maintain and monitor overall animal health, care and treatment of animals.
• Perform routine and seasonal vaccinations and injections as directed.
• Perform general facility cleaning, maintenance, and hygiene.
• Power wash following the farm’s cleaning and disinfection processes, including to pre-check, performing the appropriate preparation, abiding by the safety protocols and ensuring the equipment is in effective and efficient working order.
• Assist with the recording and maintaining of accurate production records and documentation.
• Follow all safety policies and procedures; and communicate any potential hazards and near misses to the Department Lead or Manager.
• Perform heat checking and the breeding/insemination processes
• Monitor, test and care for pregnant sows
• Assist with weaning of piglets and movement of animals between barns and departments.
• Prepare the farrow rooms, assist in the proper farrowing of sows and day one pig care.
• Assist in the fostering of piglets.
• Process and castrate piglets.
• Adjust and hang heat lamps as required, check on heat mats.

Essential Functions

• Ensure the highest standards of the humane treatment of animals.
• Follow the farm’s bio-security protocols at all times.
• Monitor and assist with feeding systems and ensure animals are fed and watered according to respective protocols
• Maintain and monitor overall animal health, care and treatment of animals.
• Perform routine and seasonal vaccinations and injections as directed.
• Perform general facility cleaning, maintenance, and hygiene.
• Power wash following the farm’s cleaning and disinfection processes, including to pre-check, performing the appropriate preparation, abiding by the safety protocols and ensuring the equipment is in effective and efficient working order.
• Assist with the recording and maintaining of accurate production records and documentation.
• Follow all safety policies and procedures; and communicate any potential hazards and near misses to the Department Lead or Manager.
• Perform heat checking and the breeding/insemination processes
• Monitor, test and care for pregnant sows
• Assist with weaning of piglets and movement of animals between barns and departments.
• Prepare the farrow rooms, assist in the proper farrowing of sows and day one pig care.
• Assist in the fostering of piglets.
• Process and castrate piglets.
• Adjust and hang heat lamps as required, check on heat mats.

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, the employee has constant exposure to dust, animal dander and odor. The noise level in the work environment is usually loud. Employees stand and walk on concrete for most of their shift. Seasonally, the employee is exposed to a variety of extreme conditions within the barn that include heat and humidity.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to have ordinary ambulatory skills sufficient to move throughout the farm; and the ability to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, balance, climb, and manipulate (lift, carry, move) weight of up to 50 pounds. Position requires good hand-eye coordination, arm, hand and finger dexterity, including ability to grasp. Frequently required, for extended periods of time, to stand, walk, stoop, reach with hands and arms, kneel, bend at the waist, climb, perform repetitive motions, and communicate.

Qualifications And Skills

Competencies

• Respect and care for animals.
• Ability to work effectively on a team.
• Demonstrates initiative and time-management skills.
• Safety oriented.

Basic Qualifications

• Ability to do basic math such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
• Regular and consistent attendance.
• For positions that require travel to another barn location(s), a valid driver’s license and insurable driving record is required.
• Ability to drive a skid steer.

We Describe Our Culture As

• Detail-oriented -- quality and precision-focused
• Outcome-oriented -- results-focused with strong performance culture
• Stable -- traditional, stable, strong processes
• Team-oriented -- cooperative and collaborative