Feed Yard Jobs

[Northern Rancher]

Ohh if your working with a good crew a feedlot can be a fun place to work-always something going on-never gets boring.

 

[DJL]

The feedlot isn't such a bad place, if the crew is good, and as NR says, it can be fun. The place where I work winters has had most of the same pen riders for several years, some have been there for many years, and of course there are a few come and go. Not every place is that way unfortunately, and no, you'll not get rich at it, but we do make a living.

 

[RoperAB]

The feedlot isn't such a bad place, if the crew is good, and as NR says, it can be fun. The place where I work winters has had most of the same pen riders for several years, some have been there for many years, and of course there are a few come and go. Not every place is that way unfortunately, and no, you'll not get rich at it, but we do make a living.

Okay in Claresholm there are two feedlots. Claresholm Beef Producers and Lozemans.
CBP is begging right now for workers and they cant get them. If you work there expect to have to crawl through 5 feet of manure to get anywhere you want to go. Plus right now you would be working pretty much with buffalo<not much fun>. They pay $14 an hour with no houseing. They also cant use horses there.
Lozemans is all together different from what I hear. They have no labour problems. Although they dont really use horses either.

Its like auction marts. Some are good places to work and others are different, much different.

 

[DJL]

Roper if conditions are that bad at CBP, they don't deserve to have qualified help. I know they don't use horses, so I wouldn't even consider working there. Where I work it takes one guy, full time, to keep the pens scraped but it sure makes life easier on the cattle and the pen checkers.

 

[RoperAB]

Roper if conditions are that bad at CBP, they don't deserve to have qualified help. I know they don't use horses, so I wouldn't even consider working there. Where I work it takes one guy, full time, to keep the pens scraped but it sure makes life easier on the cattle and the pen checkers.

Well that was sort of my point, plus from what I have heard CBP is actually one of the better ones. I wont name them but there are a lot of Dutch owned feedlots in southern Alberta that have much worse reputations. Some of them have been running adds in the regional constantly now for over ten years looking for workers. Even when they hire new workers they keep running the ad because they know the new worker wont stay for very long.
Now the latest thing in AB is foreign workers. They can bring them in on a temp visa, use them like a slave and if the slave steps out of line the employer can have him deported anytime.
Not all employers are like this. Not all feedlots are like this. But some of them are.

 

[DJL]

Its not just the Dutch owned lots, either. Roseburn has pretty much a standing ad looking for help, and yes they are talking about bringing in foreign workers. If they would pay a little better, they might have better luck attracting local residents, but they say they can't afford to.