Beef Cattle Farm Worker
What the work is
Performs routine tasks on a beef cattle farm, such as feeding, mustering and moving cattle, and assisting with animal husbandry.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Provides beef cattle with feed and water in accordance with feeding schedules, and monitors feed and water intake
- Musters and droves beef cattle between paddocks, ensuring sufficient feed and water is available and pasture does not become degraded
- Patrols, inspects and reports on the health, welfare and condition of beef cattle, and the condition of fences and other enclosures
- Assists with animal husbandry practices and maintaining the health and welfare of beef cattle
- Assists with the safe transportation of beef cattle to market or other locations
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a mixed sheep and cattle property in the tablelands, with a shearing shed, a stockyard and a small horse stable. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- Mustering the mob home at the end of the day with the dogs working well
- The shearing shed running in sync, with fleeces flying and the sheep moving smoothly
- Spotting a stock problem early and seeing the animal recover
Hard days
- Dawn starts in freezing weather when the water troughs are iced over
- A fence down after a storm and animals out on the road
- Long days in the yards in dust and heat, with sore shoulders by the end
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 841231, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.