Ranch Hand

Work description

Winter months in Iowa are very cold and we need to put bedding down for cattle while they are confined to keep the pens dry, employees will assist with pen maintenance and pen repairs during this time. We confine our cattle in pens during the winter to keep them away from the elements. During this time (December-April), we need to feed the cattle daily since they are not able to graze freely in pastures. From December until the spring (April) employees will need to assist with putting down bedding for cattle daily to ensure cattle are comfortable and run at peak performance. At the feedlot cattle wellbeing comes first. We run a well-kept farm. We process cattle, moving, sweeping, washing, and repairing equipment. We scrape and haul snow from pens to keep the mud away to also assist with keeping the pens dry. We pump and spread manure on fields all winter. In the spring we need to prepare cattle and work them to take care of any winter related health issues. This requires additional assistance with cattle during this time. When things dry out in the spring, we completely clean out the pens and haul dirt to fill any holes caused by the winter weather. We mow the fields. Cattle are returned to fields for grazing and no further manual care is needed until the next winter. We then clean farm stalls and equipment. We also bale some grass and hay and spray for weeds around the farm. During the summer months of May through August we plant corn and grasses to then be harvested in the fall. In August through October, we put up roughly 350,000 bushels of wet corn which takes a lot of time. After we finish putting up corn, we bale 4,000 round bales of stalks, which will be gathered and piled for winter usage. Employees will need to operate a tractor with a baler and rake to make bales. Employees will also need to pile 5,000 ton of corn roughage to prepare for the next winter.

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Last updated: October 9, 2026