Ranch hand vs dairy farmer

The differences between ranch hands and dairy farmers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a dairy farmer has an average salary of $29,959, which is higher than the $27,569 average annual salary of a ranch hand.

The top three skills for a ranch hand include harvest, farm work and farm machinery. The most important skills for a dairy farmer are milking, dairy farm, and dairy cattle.

Ranch hand vs dairy farmer overview

	Ranch Hand	Dairy Farmer
Yearly salary	$27,569	$29,959
Hourly rate	$13.25	$14.40
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	4,309	1,250
Job satisfaction	1	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Ranch hand vs dairy farmer salary

Ranch hands and dairy farmers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Ranch Hand	Dairy Farmer
Average salary	$27,569	$29,959
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $34,000	Between $13,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Petersburg, ND	Westbrook, ME
Highest paying state	North Dakota	Vermont
Best paying company	Williams International	Kroger
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between ranch hand and dairy farmer education

There are a few differences between a ranch hand and a dairy farmer in terms of educational background:

	Ranch Hand	Dairy Farmer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Animal Science
Most common college	-	-

Ranch hand vs dairy farmer demographics

Here are the differences between ranch hands' and dairy farmers' demographics:

	Ranch Hand	Dairy Farmer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7%	Male, 67.0% Female, 33.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 26.8% Asian, 1.8% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 1.7% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between ranch hand and dairy farmer duties and responsibilities

Ranch hand example responsibilities.

Manage habitat, predators, whitetail and several species of exotic animals.
Assist with lessons and summer camps which include helping riders groom, tack up and mount.
Relocate wheel line sprinklers used to irrigate crops.
Halter training fillies and colts, handling mares, studs and foals
Operate a backhoe to dig dirt and move large oil field equipment.
Clean livestock stalls and sheds using disinfectant solutions, brushes, and shovels.

Dairy farmer example responsibilities.

Manage regular routines of dairy calf sector, developing skill in feeding, housing, sanitation, parasite and disease control.
Hoof trimming responsibilities include all dry cow maintenance trims, treating lame cows and diagnosing hoof health issues.
Demonstrate milking process and equipment operation to all workers.
Milk goats, set up pipes for pasteurizer, clean pipes, rake barn, feed goats
Herd the dairy cattle to pasture for grazing.
Clean cattle lots with bobcat and dump truck.

Ranch hand vs dairy farmer skills

Common ranch hand skills

Harvest, 15%
Farm Work, 12%
Farm Machinery, 9%
Physical Characteristics, 7%
Cattle Ranch, 6%
Farm Animals, 4%

Common dairy farmer skills

Milking, 32%
Dairy Farm, 12%
Dairy Cattle, 11%
Farm Machinery, 10%
Milk Cows, 8%
Calf, 5%