What does a barn worker do?
Barn worker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real barn worker resumes:
- Manage regular routines of dairy calf sector, developing skill in feeding, housing, sanitation, parasite and disease control.
- Provide feed and clean water, groom and tack horses, clean stalls and exercise horses for clients.
- Monitor and maintain crops to maximize product quality and quantity during harvest.
- Turn outs, grooming (except clipping), trailering, mucking out pens/stalls, bathing, feeding.
Barn worker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 26% of Barn Workers are proficient in Tack, Milking, and Golf Carts. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Listening skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Barn Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Tack, 26%
Feed & Groom Horses Clean Stalls & Tack
- Milking, 21%
Clean and sanitize milking equipment and ensure equipment functionality.
- Golf Carts, 12%
Cleaned golf carts Put golfers bags onto their cart Cleaned golfers clubs and delivered them to their car
- Lesson Program, 9%
Managed lesson program instructor substitute.
- Farm Equipment, 7%
Provided medical care on cattle- Performed landscaping- Built fence and farm equipment- Operated heavy farming equipment
- Medical Treatment, 5%
Fed horses - Minor medical treatments - Kept barn working smoothly
Most barn workers use their skills in "tack," "milking," and "golf carts" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential barn worker responsibilities here:
Dexterity. The most essential soft skill for a barn worker to carry out their responsibilities is dexterity. This skill is important for the role because "agricultural workers need excellent hand-eye coordination to harvest crops and operate farm machinery." Additionally, a barn worker resume shows how their duties depend on dexterity: "have experience with backhoes, forklifts, flail mowers, and various other farm equipment. "
Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform barn worker duties is listening skills. Barn workers responsibilities require that "agricultural workers must listen carefully to ensure that they understand instructions from farmers and other agricultural managers and supervisors." Barn workers also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "communicated with veterinarians, scheduled appointments, and followed procedures for administering medical treatments. "
Physical strength. barn workers are also known for physical strength, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to barn worker responsibilities, because "agricultural workers must be strong enough to lift heavy objects, including tools and crops." A barn worker resume example shows how physical strength is used in the workplace: "care for and feed horses, includes physical labor leadership and extracurricular activities"
Mechanical skills. A big part of what barn workers do relies on "mechanical skills." You can see how essential it is to barn worker responsibilities because "agricultural workers must be able to operate complex farm machinery." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical barn worker tasks: "light mechanical work on farm equipment. "
The three companies that hire the most barn workers are:
- PSEA3 barn workers jobs
- Gulfstream Aerospace1 barn workers jobs
- University of South Carolina1 barn workers jobs
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Compare different barn workers
Barn worker vs. Cowboy
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a barn worker are more likely to require skills like "tack," "milking," "golf carts," and "lesson program." On the other hand, a job as a cowboy requires skills like "customer service," "food preparation," "cdl," and "general maintenance." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Cowboys tend to reach similar levels of education than barn workers. In fact, cowboys are 2.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Barn worker vs. Livestock yard attendant
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, barn worker responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "tack," "milking," "golf carts," and "lesson program." Meanwhile, a livestock yard attendant has duties that require skills in areas such as "light maintenance," "vehicle check-in," "rental equipment," and "auto auctions." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Livestock yard attendants may earn a higher salary than barn workers, but livestock yard attendants earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $35,283. On the other hand, barn workers receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $28,995.livestock yard attendants earn similar levels of education than barn workers in general. They're 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Barn worker vs. Stable hand
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a barn worker is likely to be skilled in "tack," "milking," "golf carts," and "lesson program," while a typical stable hand is skilled in "clean stalls," "facility maintenance," "general upkeep," and "water."
When it comes to education, stable hands tend to earn similar degree levels compared to barn workers. In fact, they're 1.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Barn worker vs. Field hand
Types of barn worker
Updated January 8, 2025
