Swine Technician, Sow

Position Summary: The Sow Farm Swine Technician is responsible for daily care of animals through implementation of established production procedures.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Become a skilled employee in animal husbandry to reduce stress of herd and maximize production.
• Learns and develops specialized skills necessary for a smooth workflow.
• Able to prioritize and follow task sheets and time frames to achieve production targets.
• Evaluates and recognizes the signs of different health issues and properly cares for them.
• Administrates vaccinations and health shots properly.
• Power washes and disinfects rooms.
• Able to shuffle and move animals with limited stress.
• Assists with heat detection procedures.
• Assists with artificial insemination.
• Processes litters.
• Marks the sow cards for breeding, health, etc.
• Chores the barns - understands the feed system requirements and routine for feeding and watering sows.
• Provides daily input to Lead person on production and animal health concerns.
• Maintains PQA+ certification.
• Completes safety training timely.
• Follows all Animal Welfare policies and practices and informs management of any violations by staff.
• Follows bio-security measures according to Bio-Security Policy, including movement of animals, visitor access, sanitation, and disease prevention measures.
• Follows all safety rules and practices and ensures others do the same.
• Supports, promotes, and adheres to policies, procedures, and values of Passel Farms and industry standards.
• Regular, punctual and consistent attendance is essential for this position.
• Other duties as may be assigned to fulfill responsibilities of this position and support team goals.

Qualification: High School Diploma/GED preferred. Able to work with a variety of personalities and live animals.

Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this job, employees are regularly required to sit, walk and stand; talk or hear, both in person and by telephone; use hands repetitively to finger, handle, feel or operate equipment; reach with hands and the employee must regularly be able to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. There are frequent bending, squatting, stopping and kneeling. Must be able to climb ladder. Occasionally need to lift/pull 50 pounds to 100 pounds of force to move an object with or without the assistance of another person. Must be able to move and work with live animals of various sizes.

Work Environment: The work is performed almost exclusively in hog facilities in rural areas that are shower in and shower out facilities. Hours of work will generally be during regular business hours with alternating weekends and holidays. There with be some variation in work hours due to animal care and health, weather, employee schedules, and other concerns. Personal protection equipment may be required in some areas.