Role Purpose:

Agric Northern Region is looking for x4 Farmers for the Rustenburg Zuurplaat site to manage the operations, resources and manpower of a site thereby ensuring an optimal number of the right quality birds at the right time and at the lowest cost.

Required Qualifications:

• A degree or diploma in Animal Production
• Valid Code EB drivers’ licence

Required Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years relevant experience in a similar environment, 2 to 3 of which should be in a supervisory capacity.

Required Knowledge and Skills:

Knowledge:

• Poultry production inclusive of breeder and broiler management
• Understand basic poultry nutrition, growth, anatomy, reproduction and biosecurity
• Agricultural and farm operations and processes
• Ability to recognize ventilation, brooding, feeding and water requirements of the birds and make the correct adjustments
• Operation of farm equipment
• Lighting programmes for optimal performance
• Calculation of feed requirements
• Ability to make feeding decisions to obtain target weight
• Troubleshooting to achieve targets and objectives
• Understand disease and biosecurity fundamentals as well as vaccination and immunity principles
• Labour relations legislation and procedures
• ISO and health, safety and environmental legislation
• National best practice standards
• Systems for SHERQ
• Should be fully computer literate in all MS Office and related software

Skills:

• Verbal and written communication
• Interpersonal
• Numeracy
• Negotiation
• Management
• Logical thinking
• Problem solving
• Analytical thinking
• Decision making
• Stockmanship

Key Responsibilities

• House Preparation prior to placement in order to create ideal conditions for bird production.
• Chick Placement – co –ordinate and monitor staff, liases with the hatchery, chick placing foremen,
• Post placement of chicks (Brooding conditions) – Evaluation of chick quality, recording of vent temperatures, temperature setting.
• Growing conditions – Daily monitoring of the bird performance which entails feed intake, water recordings, temp and humidity recordings, mortality recordings
• Ventilation management – Adjust ventilation static pressure to achieve minimum and maximum bird requirement.
• Water Management - Water sampling prior to placement, flushing of the water lines three times in a week, sanitation of house water reticulation, daily water pressure setting and nipple height.
• Feed management – Receiving and Recording of feed deliveries relative to feed programme; daily bin stock counts; management of feed heights; adjustment of feeder levels according to bird’s size; monitoring of feed quality(% of fine feed); sampling of feed when the truck arrives.
• Outsource activities – Preparation of the house environment prior to catching commencing; all documentation relative to catching need to check accuracy with the broiler planner; good communication and planning with the catching team and logistics to minimize any holding time.
• Biosecurity and Farm sanitation – Maintaining an effective biosecurity programme by practicing good hygiene, vaccination and disease prevention.
• Bird Health – Daily monitoring and activity of birds, and sending of post mortems to the laboratory as per VCD.
• Record Keeping – Keep the documentation files updated.
• Staff management – Keep and update daily registers, mdwt’s, disciplinary records, training records ; review meetings.