FARM JOB: Coronation, Alberta – TK Ranch, Pasture Livestock Production Specialist

Posted by JoHana Harcourt on November 23, 2022

TK Ranch in Coronation, Alberta is seeking a Pasture Livestock Production Specialist!

ABOUT TK Ranch

TK Ranch is a vertically integrated pasture to plate livestock operation. Our focus is on animal welfare, environmental sustainability and quality. We raise cattle, pigs, sheep and laying hens to the highest pasture based animal welfare standards in North America. Additionally, our cattle and sheep are third party certified for being strictly grass-fed and finished. We steward 8400 acres of biodiverse endangered Northern Fescue Grasslands in addition to raising our own feed using organic principles. We use tractors, trucks, swathers, balers, mixer mills and other equipment on the ranch. We use low stress livestock handling to manage our livestock which is taught across Canada and the northern United States by Dylan Biggs, who co-owns the ranch. Our livestock are born, raised and finished on pasture, we do not use feedlots or barns to finish our animals. We are one of the only farm families in Canada to have our own small on-farm government inspected red meat abattoir and cutting facilities. We slaughter our animals on TK Ranch with the utmost respect and cut and process the meat to the highest standards in the natural and organic marketplace. We’ve been direct marketing since 1995 and our entire production is sold direct to consumer through our website and online store.

In addition to raising livestock to stringent animal welfare standards, conserving the endangered Northern Fescue Grasslands, and the species at risk that call this fragile ecosystem home, is of the utmost importance to us. We use cattle as a tool to graze these grasslands to keep them healthy and biodiverse and grass-fed and finished beef is a by-product of our management. Many years ago we realized that consumers like to be able to buy a selection of different products so we began raising grass-fed and finished lamb (very small production), heritage breed pasture raised pork and free-range hens. We use organic principles to raise all of our livestock and steward our land, but we are not certified organic.

DESIRED QUALITIES

We’re looking for someone who shares our commitment for animal welfare and the environment. A person we can trust to work independently to achieve the standards we have established for our program. Someone with a strong work ethic, problem solving abilities, compassion, loyalty and integrity. The candidate will have experience raising pigs and laying hens on pasture.

JOB TASKS

  • Animal husbandry of pigs including: Managing breeding groups; farrowing; weaning; summer pasture rotation; winter pasture housing; formulating rations, grinding feed and feeding, and; maintaining health records and biosecurity protocols.
  • Animal husbandry of laying hens including: Management of new pullets and hens; feeding and watering as required; filling and maintaining nest boxes and keeping the chicken house clean; collecting, washing, weighing, sorting, cartoning and refrigerating eggs, and; maintaining written records.
  • General maintenance and operation of equipment including: electric and barbed wire fences; hog waterers; tractors; trucks, and; miscellaneous feeding equipment.
  • Liaising with management for all basic decision making and concerns relevant to the position.
  • Other duties as required.

JOB DETAILS

Term: This is a permanent full-time position that is currently available for an immediate start.

Hours per week:  Dependent on season and experience of the candidate.  During the summer, when the sows are farrowing and the pigs and hens are on pasture, the days are longer. During the winter, when the animals are in their winter pens, the days are shorter. While some help will be offered, most tasks will need to be done independently. Like most jobs in agriculture, the position is 6 days a week. The person who takes on this position will be living on-site and will be on call in the event any livestock issues arise.

Wage: This is a salaried position at $3,750.00 per month for the right candidate. In addition to this, a small 3 bedroom home, utilities and internet are provided. We also offer a basic health benefits package after 3 months and an annual meat allowance.

TO APPLY

Please provide a resume with a cover letter describing why you’d like to work for TK Ranch. colleen@tkranch.com

When applying, please mention you saw this posting at youngagrarians.org

LEARN MORE ABOUT TK Ranch

Website: https://www.tkranch.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TKRanchAlberta
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tkranchalberta/

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