Job: Assistant Herd Manager
Description:
The Assistant Herd Manager will work with the goat team to ensure health and wellness of all the animals. Ensuring all tasks get done in a timely manner while helping to communicate to staff what all the animals needs are. Responsible for helping the Herd Manager and co-workers execute the day-to-day management of Stepladder Creamery’s dairy. This includes but is not limited to: herd management, kidding, supply/feed inventory management, and personnel management, scheduling and covering shifts of staff as necessary. This position will assist in interviewing, hiring, training, managing, and firing dairy staff in cooperation with the Herd Manager.
Hours + Season
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Estimated hours: 24-40 hours per week depending on applicant and seasonal herd needs
Compensation:
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$19+/hour to start
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Negotiable depending on level of experience
Duties include:
Help manage all aspects of the dairy at Stepladder Creamery in cooperation with Herd Manager during the 2025 kidding, milking and breeding seasons.
Goats / Dairy
Goat health
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Perform goat maintenance: hoof trimming, shaving udders, vaccination, herbal cookie making etc
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Pasture development & rotational grazing
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Mastitis prevention + detection
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Working with Herd Manager to plate milk samples in cases of mastitis + interpreting results to develop treatment plans
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Administration of medication as needed
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General record keeping + scheduling
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Keeping up to date on vaccines
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Following existing program for worming + vaccinations
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Weight measurements + recording
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Maintain rigorous records of each goat
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Ensuring minerals are filled
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Baby goat health
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Kidding management
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Overnights
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Bottle feeding management
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Vaccination management
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Health management
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Bottle feeding schedule + weaning
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Feeding + pasturing:
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Feeding hay, ensuring stock of feed at all times (Goats, dogs, pigs)
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Moving goats into pastures
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Ensure water is functional and clean at all times
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Watering pasture as needed
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Feed guardian livestock dogs
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Feed pigs & cows (occasionally as needed)
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Cleaning
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Using tractor to clean / muck pens regularly
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Complete weekly milk house deep clean
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Keep dairy facility clean + organized
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Help to clean milk house tanks, tanker trailer, and any other milk handling equipment as needed
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Deep cleaning milking pipeline as needed
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Supplies
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Manage supplies/equipment inventory
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Work with Herd Manager to keep all items needed for dairy in stock
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Keep all feed in stock (Goats, pigs, dogs)
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Milking
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Perform milking shifts as scheduled adhering to highest standards of hygiene and sanitation
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Cover milking shifts as needed
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People management
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Work with team to manage all aspects of the dairy
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Research / problem solving
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Work to troubleshoot any problems related to the dairy / goats
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Come up with solutions when something breaks or goes wrong
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Troubleshoot and research to come up with a solution when an animal gets sick or is injured
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Misc
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Feed all animals as needed on farm (if owners are out of town)
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Cleaning and Maintenance
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Maintain cleanliness and functionality of dairy equipment and vehicles
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Establish a schedule to ensure regular cleaning of pens and milking parlor
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Maintain gates, fences, barns and equipment associated with the dairy
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Tour Program Awareness and Accomodation
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Maintain awareness of and make accommodations for the needs of the tour program whenever possible. This may include and is not limited to:
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Keeping the pen, parlor, ect. as clean as possible for tour guests
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Goat pens are organized and created with tour program guest access and safety in mind whenever possible
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Scheduling pen scrapes and other duties around the tour program to ensure that goats are available for visiting when tours are being led
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Regular communication is maintained with the tour program to address concerns, issues, changes, and/or updates
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Animal Sales and Purchasing
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Set pricing for goats based on market value
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Sell all goats by utilizing Craigslist, the Stepladder website, and any other means available in order to ensure that available animals are rehomed as soon as possible
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Coordinate goat pick-ups with customers and receive payments.
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Assist in arranging for stock acquisition whenever necessary (bucks, milking does, etc.)
Additional Requirements
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Manage Kidding Season Challenges: Handle the ups and downs of animal husbandry, including managing workloads, resolving unexpected issues, and maintaining a positive and productive environment during this demanding period.
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Animal Health Decisions: Make critical decisions regarding animal health, including difficult life-and-death choices, with the welfare of the herd and farm operations in mind.
