Listing Information

Currently Hiring

No, not at this time. Please check back next season!

Number of Workers Sought

1

Type of Farm

Large Animal (cattle, sheep, goats)

Marketing Strategy

Community Supported Agriculture, Farm Stand, Farmers' Market, Restaurant, Wholesale, Education

Paid

Yes

Pay Rate

Monthly Stipend- Depends on Experience

What are the dates of your position?

Year round/full time

Are you open to shorter periods of employment or do you prefer that workers stay the full season?

Prefer full season

Explain the room and board arrangements or describe options in your area

None available

Do you have a website, social media account, or job posting anywhere else?

Yes

Online Listing URL

https://www.oxbowcattleco.com/oxbow-cattle-company-ranch-hand-job-announcement/

Describe yourself, your family, background, farming experience, philosophy, goals and interests

Go to https://www.oxbowcattleco.com/our-story/ to learn about us.

Oxbow Cattle Company Mission
 Regenerate the ecosystem
 Respect all animals
 Connect with our community
 Produce high quality and healthy food that nourishes the body and soul.

Oxbow Cattle Company is a regenerative ranching operation that raises high quality grass-finished beef and sells it directly to the community of Missoula and surrounding areas. We use the most current regenerative management techniques for year round grazing of our cattle herds and are always evolving and learning to improve upon this. In 2019 we introduced multi-species grazing with goats to help mitigate weeds. We've found that goats play a crucial role in our holistic land management goals and have decided to integrate them back into our grazing rotation this summer. We take pride in our low-stress stockmanship and horsemanship skills. This job is not an 8-5, 5 days a week job, we usually work longer days and weekends. With that said we strive for a life/work balance. This position will challenge you both physically and mentally, and will be rewarding in the end.

Describe the physical setting of your farm and the nature of the community in which you live

Approx. 5,000 acre ranch that is located directly south of Missoula. We border the city and subdivisions on the north end of our place and run south into as wild country as the Bitterroot Valley has. We own 400 acres and lease the rest. The country varies from forested Bitterroot River bottom to dry uplands on the east side of Bitterroot Valley. Our community is Missoula.

Describe your farm operation

We are a conception to consumption all-natural grass-finished beef business. To meet our demand, we also source approximately 80 finishers annually from producers that meet our requirements of no growth hormones, no sub-therapeutic antibiotics, no grains and the genetics that finish efficiently on grass. In 2019, we sold 129 beeves to the community of Missoula through grocery stores, restaurants, farmer’s market, direct sales and our new on ranch store, the “f2m”. To raise this many beeves, we have three different enterprises, a cow/calf, stocker and finisher enterprise.

Describe the work to be performed by applicant

Daily routines vary with seasonal change of work, so the following are general guidelines with notable exceptions. A typical work day starts at 7 AM and ends at 5 PM. Work weeks are Monday thru Friday with an additional Saturday or Sunday expected to assist with Farmers Market, cattle moves, branding and when Bart and Wendy are gone.
Notable exceptions:
- Calving; checks every few hours from daylight to dark and if needed throughout the night. Calving is from April 15 to July 14th.
- Farm to market store (f2m) stocking. This is done every day of the week.
- Delivering beef every other Tuesday, means we are at the mercy and timing of our processor. Depending on when they show up deliveries may extend past 5 PM.
- Daily cattle moves and daily irrigating.
- Environmental conditions such as hot days, may dictate changing starting times to first light and concluding after lunch.
- When livestock are out. We must act timely if animals are out and need to be placed back within their pasture/paddocks.
- Weather emergencies such as heavy snow on poly wire, flooding, fires etc.
- Ranch work in general has a way of throwing curveballs at you and plans change daily.
January – February: Livestock feeding & monitoring, livestock moves, e-fence construction, equipment maintenance, grazing and business planning, WOTB work, education opportunities, meetings. This tends to be some of our slowest time and easiest to follow a schedule of Monday thru Friday 8 AM to 5 PM.
March – April: Livestock feeding & monitoring, livestock moves (daily), equipment maintenance, e-fence construction, permanent fence maintenance and construction, irrigation infrastructure maintenance, irrigating, planting cover crops and legumes/forbs.
May – November: Calving, livestock monitoring, livestock moves (daily), equipment maintenance, e-fence construction, permanent fence maintenance and construction, irrigating, range monitoring, branding, goat and sheep management, weed management, water development projects, educational opportunities.
December: Holidays, and all the above. Like January and February, December tends to be some of our slowest time and easiest to follow a schedule of Monday thru Friday 8 AM to 5 PM.
*The employer has the right to vary the working ours, days and time to meet the needs of the business.

Potential Jobs/Tasks

This job will be very diverse and rewarding. Here is a partial list of potential job duties:
- Calving
- Irrigating
- Animal husbandry
- Load & haul livestock while applying low stress techniques
- Move livestock while applying low stress techniques
- Feeding & supplementing livestock
- Fence construction
- Fence maintenance
- E-fence construction and deconstruction
- Range & soil health monitoring
- Livestock health monitoring
- Equipment repair and maintenance
- Building repair and maintenance
- Weed spraying, chopping & pulling
- Leading volunteer days
- Conduct education outreach and field days
- Water development
- Wildlife habitat protection
- Stream regeneration
- Soil regeneration
- Operate side-by-side, ATV, 4 wheel drive trucks (standard)
- Gather, saddle and ride horses while using natural horsemanship methods
- Sell Oxbow Beef
- Deliver Beef
- Plant and monitor cover crops as well as other plantings
- Assist with goat/sheep enterprise
- Move & monitor sheep and goats
- Website development
- Media development for Oxbow
- Assist with constructing annual grazing plan
- Contribute meaningfully to Oxbow Cattle Company Mission
- Most of all learn, grow and have fun

What do you expect of a worker?

The herder can expect to operate equipment including 4-wheelers, side-by-sides, drive trucks and trailers, and work with the Oxbow crew. The herder must be physically fit and able to work outside in all weather conditions and be willing to become wet and dirty on a daily basis. This position provides a large amount of autonomy and responsibility, requiring a self-starting, figure-it-out attitude. This is our second season with goats and we are excited for a dynamic partnership with the right person.
Housing will not be provided
You will be required to carry your own personal cell phone for communication
You will be required to provide your own transportation for all personal use such as travel to and from work.
Please send your resume to oxbowcattleco@gmail.com along with answers to the following questions:
1. What does regenerative agriculture mean to you?
2. Describe what a good and contributing team member looks like.
3. Tell us about your relationship and experience caring for animals.

Describe the learning and educational opportunities available to a worker

The person that receives this position will have the opportunity to work along side the owners and employees of Oxbow Cattle Company and will learn regenerative agriculture practices. In addition an education budget will be set for the new employee to use how everyone sees best fits the individual.

Are you a full-time farmer?

Yes

Please attach any photos of your farm and operation