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How to hire a milker

Milker hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring milkers in the United States:

  • In the United States, the median cost per hire a milker is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
  • On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new milker to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a milker, step by step

To hire a milker, you should create an ideal candidate profile, determine a budget, and post and promote your job. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a milker:

Here's a step-by-step milker hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a milker job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new milker
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    Before you post your milker job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a milker for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    Hiring the perfect milker also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

    This list presents milker salaries for various positions.

    Type of MilkerDescriptionHourly rate
    MilkerAgricultural workers maintain the quality of farms, crops, and livestock by operating machinery and doing physical labor under the supervision of farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers.$6-31
    Ranch HandA ranch hand is a person who takes care of livestock animals in a ranch. Ranch hands perform the ranch husbandry job, which involves keeping them healthy, feeding them, and overseeing breeding... Show more$10-16
    Farm LabourAlso called agricultural workers, farm laborers are people who inspect and harvest crops. The workers irrigate soil on the farm and maintain their pumps, pipes, or ditches... Show more$10-15
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Milking
    • Dairy Farm
    • Calf
    • Milk Cows
    • Goats
    • Skid Loader
    • Farm Equipment
    • RAN
    • Farm Work
    • Bobcat
    • Dairy Cows
    • Milk Production
    • Herd Health
    Responsibilities:
    • Milk cows, treat sick cows, clean stalls/barns, tend calves, and assist with calf births.
    • Perform tasks such as feeding, medicating, washing, breeding, farrowing, and processing the pigs.
    • Power wash the milk room when finish milking, shovele the barns, and fed the calves and cows.
    • Assist farrowing sows through birth, sort pigs by size and by the amount of pigs she can nurse.
    • Implement vaccination and calf identification program.
    • Execute proper milking techniques and management practices every milking session.
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your milker job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A milker salary can vary based on several factors:
    • Location. For example, milkers' average salary in alaska is 47% less than in vermont.
    • Seniority. Entry-level milkers earn 80% less than senior-level milkers.
    • Certifications. A milker with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a milker's salary.

    Average milker salary

    $14.59hourly

    $30,339 yearly

    Entry-level milker salary
    $13,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 16, 2025

    Average milker salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1Pennsylvania$31,593$15
    2Michigan$30,192$15
    3Nebraska$28,512$14
    4Nebraska$28,508$14
    5New Mexico$28,381$14
    6New Mexico$28,311$14
    7Georgia$28,274$14
    8Texas$27,647$13
    9Kansas$27,532$13
    10Kansas$27,526$13
    11Kansas$27,493$13
    12Texas$27,314$13
    13Texas$27,197$13
    14Texas$27,183$13
    15Texas$27,182$13
    16Missouri$27,039$13
    17Wisconsin$26,793$13
    18Florida$26,619$13
    19Florida$26,555$13
    20Florida$26,508$13

    Average milker salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1University of Wisconsin System$40,898$19.66
    2Cargill$40,821$19.63
    3Children's Hospital of Philadelphia$29,954$14.40
    4Braum's$29,079$13.98
    5Chappell Farms$26,437$12.71
    6Full Circle Farm, Inc.$26,295$12.64
    7Calstar Inc$26,295$12.64
    8Huron-Clinton Metroparks$25,503$12.26
    9Lakeview Farms$25,049$12.04
    10Metroparks Toledo$24,946$11.99
  4. Writing a milker job description

    A job description for a milker role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a milker job description:

    Milker job description example

    $3000.00 Bonus

    Top local pay starting at $15/hr and experienced milkers will be making $17.50/hr

    Responsible for milking cows in the main barn, sick barn, and organic barn.

    Essential Duties :

    • Prepare cows ready for milking (cleaning, etc.)
    • Milk herd utilizing automated milking equipment
    • Cleaning milking equipment
    • Keeping milking barn clean during and after milking process
    • Taking direction for the milking barn supervisor
    • Working in the milking barn outside all day
    • Other duties as assigned


    Qualifications :

    • High school diploma or GED preferred
    • 3 months farm exp. preferred
    • Must be able to operate farm equipment, farm tractor, milk wagon and pickup truck, preferred


    Physical Demands :

    Demands of this job are HEAVY. Walking, standing, sitting, squatting, stooping, stairs, walking on uneven ground and reaching above shoulder height. Lifting weights up to 130 pounds (hay bales and calves) 90 times per day. This position requires NO physical impairments or restrictions. Outside work environment temperature range expected 110 to 32.

    Corporate Summary:

    At Shamrock Foods Company, people come first - our associates, our customers, and the families we serve across the nation. A privately-held, family-owned and -operated Forbes 500 company, Shamrock is an innovator in the food industry and has been since being founded in Arizona in 1922.

    Our Mission:

    At Shamrock Foods Company, we live by our founding family's motto to 'treat associates like family and customers like friends.'

    Why work for us?

    Benefits are a major part of your overall compensation, and we believe offering them at an affordable cost is not only the right thing to do, but it helps keep you and your family healthy. That's why Shamrock Foods pays for the majority of your health insurance, allowing you to take home more of your paycheck. And it doesn't stop there - our associates also enjoy additional benefits such as 401(k) Savings Plan, Profit Sharing, Paid Time Off, as well as our incredible growth opportunities, continued education, wellness programs, and much more! In addition to the benefits described, this position may be eligible for a vehicle expense allowance, cell phone allowance, and/or participation in Shamrock Rewards.

    Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

    The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)
  5. Post your job

    To find milkers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any milkers they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level milkers with the right educational background.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.
    To find milker candidates, you can consider the following options:
    • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
    • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as ag hires, farm job, farming work , joe produce, picking jobs.
    • Post your job on free job posting websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    To successfully recruit milkers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

    Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new milker

    Once you've found the milker candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

    It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new milker. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a milker?

Recruiting milkers involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

You can expect to pay around $30,339 per year for a milker, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for milkers in the US typically range between $6 and $31 an hour.

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