A 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. The primary duty they serve is to assist in the day-to-day operations in the ranch. They prepare livestock animals for slaughter or sale. They must have experience in cattle handling and/or animal husbandry. They should also be adaptable, enthusiastic, and know ranch equipment and maintenance.

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Ranch Hand Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real ranch hand resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • 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.
  • Order fertilizer treatments for fields and perform bailing duties and repair of baling equipment.
  • Assemble explosive components into gun section and then assemble sections into complete wireline gun.
  • Oversee the cutting, baling and hauling of over 2,000 tons of hay each summer.
  • Help to finish ranch house doors and trim, and clean corrals out with bobcat.
  • Place tack and/or halters on horses to accustom them to the feel of the equipment.
  • Care for horses, muck stalls, halter break foals, assist veterinarian on farm calls
  • Work on a family farm burning fields, spraying chemicals, mowing land, and pulling trailers.
  • Turn outs, grooming (except clipping), trailering, mucking out pens/stalls, bathing, feeding.
  • Operate heavy equipment, give medical attention to cattle, build and repair fences, various farming and harvest activities.

Ranch Hand Job Description

When it comes to understanding what a ranch hand does, you may be wondering, "should I become a ranch hand?" The data included in this section may help you decide. Compared to other jobs, ranch hands have a growth rate described as "little or no change" at 1% between the years 2018 - 2028, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, the number of ranch hand opportunities that are predicted to open up by 2028 is 10,900.

A ranch hand annual salary averages $27,569, which breaks down to $13.25 an hour. However, ranch hands can earn anywhere from upwards of $21,000 to $34,000 a year. This means that the top-earning ranch hands make $10,000 more than the lowest-earning ones.

It's hard work to become a ranch hand, but even the most dedicated employees consider switching careers from time to time. Whether you're interested in a more challenging position or just looking for a fresh start, we've compiled extensive information on becoming a groom, milker, cowboy, and field worker.

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Ranch Hand Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 15% of Ranch Hands are proficient in Harvest, Farm Work, and Farm Machinery. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Physical strength, and Mechanical skills.

We break down the percentage of Ranch Hands that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Harvest, 15%

    Drive and control farm equipment to till soil and to plant, cultivate, harvest crops, and hay baling.

  • Farm Work, 12%

    Do all ranch and farm work including maintain equipment run equipment, Take care of livestock and take care of grounds/crops.

  • Farm Machinery, 9%

    Performed necessary maintenance on farm machinery and operated assorted farm vehicles and machinery to plow fields.

  • Physical Characteristics, 7%

    Examine horses to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics.

  • Cattle Ranch, 6%

    Fed and cared for up to eight private horses on a four thousand acre horse and cattle ranch.

  • Farm Animals, 4%

    Administer vacations to farm animals maintain property up keep and regularly maintenance trackers and equipment.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Ranch Hand Resume templates

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Most ranch hands list "harvest," "farm work," and "farm machinery" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important ranch hand responsibilities here:

  • Arguably the most important personality trait for a ranch hand to have happens to be dexterity. An example from a resume said this about the skill, "agricultural workers need excellent hand-eye coordination to harvest crops and operate farm machinery." Additionally, other resumes have pointed out that ranch hands can use dexterity to "operated back-hoe, forklift and dump truck. "
  • While it may not be the most important skill, we found that many ranch hand duties rely on physical strength. This example from a ranch hand explains why: "agricultural workers must be strong enough to lift heavy objects, including tools and crops." This resume example is just one of many ways ranch hands are able to utilize physical strength: "required to work long hours doing very physical labor in all conditions imaginable. "
  • Ranch hands are also known for mechanical skills, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a ranch hand resume: "agricultural workers must be able to operate complex farm machinery" We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "maintain and repair equipment, welding and mechanical repairs on ranch. "
  • See the full list of ranch hand skills.

    Before becoming a ranch hand, 37.9% earned their bachelor's degree. When it comes down to graduating with a master's degree, 1.6% ranch hands went for the extra education. If you're wanting to pursue this career, it may be possible to be successful with a high school degree. In fact, some ranch hands have a college degree. But about one out of every four ranch hands didn't attend college at all.

    Those ranch hands who do attend college, typically earn either business degrees or general studies degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for ranch hands include animal science degrees or precision metal working degrees.

    When you're ready to become a ranch hand, you might wonder which companies hire ranch hands. According to our research through ranch hand resumes, ranch hands are mostly hired by D.R. Horton, Montana, and Brasada Ranch. Now is a good time to apply as D.R. Horton has 4 ranch hands job openings, and there are 4 at Montana and 2 at Brasada Ranch.

    Since salary is important to some ranch hands, it's good to note that they are figured to earn the highest salaries at Williams International, Eco Material Technologies, and IBC Bank. If you were to take a closer look at Williams International, you'd find that the average ranch hand salary is $33,674. Then at Eco Material Technologies, ranch hands receive an average salary of $32,580, while the salary at IBC Bank is $31,831.

    View more details on ranch hand salaries across the United States.

    Some other companies you might be interested in as a ranch hand include Apple Farm Service, Family Farms, and Iowa State University. These three companies were found to hire the most ranch hands from the top 100 U.S. educational institutions.

    For the most part, ranch hands make their living in the agriculture and non profits industries. Ranch hands tend to make the most in the health care industry with an average salary of $28,651. The ranch hand annual salary in the hospitality and transportation industries generally make $27,483 and $26,814 respectively. Additionally, ranch hands who work in the health care industry make 2.2% more than ranch hands in the government Industry.

    The three companies that hire the most prestigious ranch hands are:

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    What Grooms Do

    A groom is primarily in charge of maintaining the hygiene and appearance of pets. Typically working at grooming shops, a groom liaises with pet owners to identify their preferences, observe the pet's condition to identify its needs, and explain the extent of procedures to pet owners. They may bathe and cut a pet's hair or nails, even brush its teeth and recommend care procedures to clients. Furthermore, as a groom, it is essential to be proactive and alert as some pets' behaviors are unpredictable.

    We looked at the average ranch hand annual salary and compared it with the average of a groom. Generally speaking, grooms receive $3,303 higher pay than ranch hands per year.

    While their salaries may differ, one common ground between ranch hands and grooms are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like clean stalls, shovels, and coats.

    There are some key differences in responsibilities as well. For example, a ranch hand responsibilities require skills like "harvest," "farm work," "farm machinery," and "physical characteristics." Meanwhile a typical groom has skills in areas such as "pet," "clipping," "animal handling," and "pet care." This difference in skills reveals how truly different these two careers really are.

    The education levels that grooms earn is a bit different than that of ranch hands. In particular, grooms are 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a ranch hand. Additionally, they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Milker?

    Now we're going to look at the milker profession. On average, milkers earn a $2,770 higher salary than ranch hands a year.

    A similarity between the two careers of ranch hands and milkers are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "farm work," "bobcat," and "farm equipment. "

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, ranch hand responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "harvest," "farm machinery," "physical characteristics," and "cattle ranch." Meanwhile, a milker might be skilled in areas such as "milking," "dairy farm," "calf," and "milk cows." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

    It's been discovered that milkers earn higher salaries compared to ranch hands, but we wanted to find out where milkers earned the most pay. The answer? The finance industry. The average salary in the industry is $40,793. Additionally, ranch hands earn the highest paychecks in the health care with an average salary of $28,651.

    In general, milkers study at similar levels of education than ranch hands. They're 1.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How a Cowboy Compares

    The third profession we take a look at is cowboy. On an average scale, these workers bring in higher salaries than ranch hands. In fact, they make a $1,275 higher salary per year.

    By looking over several ranch hands and cowboys resumes, we found that both roles utilize similar skills, such as "physical characteristics," "water livestock," and "drive trucks." But beyond that the careers look very different.

    There are many key differences between these two careers as shown by resumes from each profession. Some of those differences include the skills required to complete responsibilities within each role. As an example of this, a ranch hand is likely to be skilled in "harvest," "farm work," "farm machinery," and "cattle ranch," while a typical cowboy is skilled in "customer service," "food preparation," "cdl," and "general maintenance."

    Cowboys typically study at similar levels compared with ranch hands. For example, they're 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of a Field Worker

    The fourth career we look at typically earns lower pay than ranch hands. On average, field workers earn a difference of $455 lower per year.

    According to resumes from both ranch hands and field workers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "mowing," "shovels," and "manual labor. "

    While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "harvest," "farm work," "farm machinery," and "physical characteristics" are skills that have shown up on ranch hands resumes. Additionally, field worker uses skills like home health, safety procedures, safety regulations, and cdl on their resumes.

    In general, field workers make a higher salary in the manufacturing industry with an average of $27,960. The highest ranch hand annual salary stems from the health care industry.

    The average resume of field workers showed that they earn similar levels of education to ranch hands. So much so that the likelihood of them earning a Master's Degree is 2.8% more. Additionally, they're less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.0%.