Dairy Cattle Farmer

Experienced Dairy Cattle Farmers are required for full-time opportunities on an established New Zealand dairy farm in Southland.

These roles are suited to practical, hardworking applicants with genuine commercial dairy farming experience. Successful applicants will be involved in the day-to-day operation of the farm, including milking, animal husbandry, feeding, pasture management and general farm maintenance.

Applicants must be comfortable working outdoors in all weather conditions and understand that dairy farming involves early starts, rostered work and physically demanding duties.

Key Responsibilities

• Carry out daily milking duties and operate milking equipment.
• Bring cows to and from the milking shed safely and efficiently.
• Monitor livestock health, behaviour and general condition.
• Identify and report sick, injured or distressed animals.
• Assist with animal health treatments and preventative health programmes.
• Assist with calving and care of cows and calves during the calving season.
• Feed livestock and assist with supplementary feeding.
• Monitor feed availability and assist with pasture management.
• Set up and move temporary electric fencing.
• Assist with grazing rotations and movement of livestock between paddocks.
• Maintain accurate livestock and farm records where required.
• Clean and maintain milking sheds, yards and farm facilities.
• Operate tractors, farm bikes, side-by-sides and other farm machinery where appropriately trained.
• Assist with basic repairs and maintenance of farm equipment, fences and infrastructure.
• Follow animal welfare, environmental and biosecurity requirements.
• Follow all workplace health and safety procedures.
• Work effectively independently and as part of the wider farm team.

Minimum Requirements

• At least 3 years of proven and verifiable commercial dairy farming experience.
• Practical experience working with dairy cattle.
• Strong experience with commercial milking operations.
• Good understanding of livestock handling and animal welfare.
• Experience identifying common animal health issues.
• Experience with feeding and general livestock management.
• Comfortable working around large animals and farm machinery.
• Physically fit and capable of undertaking demanding farm work.
• Comfortable working outdoors in varying weather conditions.
• Willing and able to work early mornings, weekends and rostered shifts.
• Reliable, hardworking and able to follow farm procedures.
• Good practical problem-solving ability.
• Strong commitment to workplace health and safety.
• A current driver's licence is strongly preferred.

Preferred Experience

Experience in any of the following areas would be advantageous:

• Large-scale commercial dairy farming.
• Herringbone and/or rotary milking sheds.
• Calving and calf rearing.
• Mastitis identification and prevention.
• Animal health treatments.
• Pasture and grazing management.
• Supplementary feeding.
• Electric fencing.
• Tractor and farm machinery operation.
• Farm bikes, quad bikes or side-by-side vehicles.
• Effluent management.
• General farm maintenance.
• Relevant agricultural or dairy farming qualifications.

Work Experience Evidence

Applicants must be able to provide verifiable evidence of their relevant dairy farming experience.

Evidence may include:

• Employment reference or experience letters.
• Certificates of employment.
• Employment contracts.
• Payslips or payroll records.
• Tax or social security records where available.
• Agricultural qualifications or training certificates.
• Other reliable documentation confirming employment, duties and length of experience.

Applicants unable to provide sufficient evidence of their claimed experience may not be considered.

Immigration Requirements

Applicants requiring visa support must:

• Meet the applicable Immigration New Zealand requirements for the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV).
• Meet any applicable Immigration New Zealand English language requirements.
• Meet Immigration New Zealand health requirements, including medical examinations where required.
• Meet Immigration New Zealand character requirements, including police certificates where required.
• Provide satisfactory evidence supporting their qualifications, employment history, skills and experience.
• Be able to obtain the appropriate New Zealand work visa before commencing employment.

What's on Offer

• Full-time employment in New Zealand.
• Minimum 30 hours per week.
• Competitive remuneration based on skills and experience.
• Stable employment within New Zealand's dairy farming sector.
• Opportunity for experienced dairy farm workers to develop their farming careers in New Zealand.

Experienced Dairy Cattle Farmers with strong practical dairy experience, good animal-handling skills and a genuine understanding of commercial dairy farm operations are encouraged to apply.