Farm Associate I

Aviagen • Pleasant Hope, MO

3d

About The Position

The Farm Associate I supports farm operations within Aviagen’s poultry farms and is primarily responsible for the care and welfare of birds at the facility. The role involves egg collection, grading, handling, recording and sanitation; maintaining poultry-house conditions and feed; monitoring flock health; and assisting with bird movements and weighing. Work may also take place in a hatchery or poultry processing plant, including handling day-old chicks, processing poultry, and collecting data. The role requires following animal-care, animal-welfare, biosecurity and safety procedures, and working around live animals in varied and sometimes challenging farm environments.

Requirements

• Ability to understand oral and written instructions and perform simple tasks.
• Basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills.
• Ability to perform repetitive work.
• Ability to stand for long periods, including eight hours or more, and maintain a flexible work schedule.
• Ability to grip, grasp or twist using hands and wrists.
• Ability to lift, carry, push or pull up to 50 pounds or more.
• Ability to bend and stoop repetitively throughout the shift.
• Ability to work with chemicals such as detergents and disinfectants.
• Ability to perform manual tasks in extreme hot or cold temperatures and in dry, dusty, damp or wet environments.
• Ability to work with and routinely handle live poultry, and to tolerate farm-related smells or foul odors, loud or noisy conditions, and substantial dust circulation.

Nice To Haves

• Animal husbandry experience.

Responsibilities

• Gather eggs while preventing excessive breakage.
• Grade eggs by category, size and condition.
• Transfer egg flats from the barn to the egg cooler room, record egg quantities, and assist with washing eggs and maintaining sanitary conditions in the egg-wash and cooler rooms.
• Maintain and record eggs and gather other required data as instructed.
• Monitor and troubleshoot poultry-house conditions and equipment, including feed lines, drinkers and fans, and maintain barn appearance.
• Monitor and document flock health and mortality.
• Clean out houses and rebuild bird pens as needed.
• Transfer feed weighing up to 50 pounds, maintain feed in feeders according to trial requirements, and ensure birds can access it.
• Collect birds for moving or weighing.
• Work with day-old chicks in the hatchery; duties may include setting, collecting and transferring eggs and disinfecting the facility.
• Work in a poultry processing plant, including live-hanging poultry and using cutting instruments to debone or cut poultry as trained for data collection.
• Work safely and efficiently as trained and follow animal-care standards, animal-welfare guidelines, and biosecurity policies and procedures.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision coverage.
• Life and AD&D coverage.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Teladoc.
• Short-Term Disability and Long-Term Disability coverage.
• Company-observed paid holidays.
• Paid Time Off at a rate of 14 days per year, prorated based on hire date.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed