Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$36,670

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$31,020 – $45,700

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

32,810

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-3.2%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

26,600

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

No formal educational credential

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Attend to live farm, ranch, open range or aquacultural animals that may include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses and other equines, poultry, rabbits, finfish, shellfish, and bees. Attend to animals produced for animal products, such as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. Duties may include feeding, watering, herding, grazing, milking, castrating, branding, de-beaking, weighing, catching, and loading animals. May maintain records on animals; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; assist in birth deliveries; and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides as appropriate. May clean and maintain animal housing areas. Includes workers who shear wool from sheep and collect eggs in hatcheries.

Main tasks

• Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies.
• Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
• Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain.
• Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment.
• Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos.
• Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals.
• Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition.
• Inspect, maintain, and repair equipment, machinery, buildings, pens, yards, and fences.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

No formal educational credential

Training once hired: short-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Animal Breeders

  $51,130 median · +3% projected

• Agricultural Equipment Operators

  $41,730 median · +8.6% projected

• Slaughterers and Meat Packers

  $40,130 median · +2% projected

• Agricultural Technicians

  $49,630 median · +5.4% projected

• First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers

  $59,320 median · +3.8% projected

• Animal Caretakers

  $35,360 median · +12.1% projected