Barn Supervisor
Reporting to: Operations
Status: Full-time Permanent
Salary: $70,000.00 to $95,000.00
Position Summary
The Barn Supervisor plays a critical role in ensuring the safe, humane, and efficient flow of livestock into the operation. This hands-on role oversees animal receiving, barn conditions, and daily coordination between drivers, plant operations, and animal welfare standards. The Barn Supervisor is a key connector on the ground—ensuring animals are handled with care, processes run smoothly, and issues are identified and addressed in real time.
The Barn Supervisor is accountable for three areas:
- Flow – animals moving in safely, calmly, efficiently. Also, animals moving through the barn and to the butina
- Environment – barn conditions that support welfare and operations
- Coordination – aligning drivers, plant, and animal welfare standards
This position works very closely with the Animal Welfare Coordinator to ensure that animal welfare standards are met in the barn.
Key Responsibilities
Animal Receiving & Offloading
- Oversee the safe and orderly unloading of livestock from transport trucks
- Ensure proper handling techniques are followed to minimize animal stress and injury
- Coordinate truck flow and docking to avoid congestion and delays
- Verify load counts and basic condition upon arrival
Barn Environment & Conditions
- Monitor and maintain appropriate stocking density in pens
- Ensure animals have access to water and are held in clean, safe conditions
- Observe barn conditions and ensure proper conditions are in placed. (temperature, ventilation, cleanliness) and escalate issues
- Coordinate cleaning, bedding, and general upkeep of barn areas
- Continuous improvement of barn flow/process
Monitoring & Issue Identification
- Observe animals for visible signs of stress, illness, or injury and escalate concerns to the Animal Welfare Coordinator
- Identify and respond to immediate risks in the barn, (overcrowding, delays, handling issues)
- Support humane handling practices in real time
Coordination & Communication
- Act as the point of contact between drivers, plant operations, and internal teams
- Communicate delays, issues, or volume changes to production
- Coordinate with the Animal Welfare Coordinator on concerns or deviations
- Support smooth transition of animals from barn to processing
Team Supervision
- Lead and support barn staff (if applicable) in daily tasks
- Provide direction on safe handling and workflow expectations
- Reinforce adherence to company practices and regulatory requirements
- Support onboarding and training of new team members Support the production team when needed to ensure proper flow of the pigs towards the butina.
Compliance & Documentation
- Ensure adherence to company policies, CFIA/OMAFRA guidelines, and animal handling standards
- Maintain basic logs (receiving, issues, incidents, mortality if applicable)
- Participate in audits or inspections as required
- Works closely with the Animal Welfare Coordinator to ensure standards are consistently applied in daily operations.
Core Competencies
- Attention to detail and observation skills
- Sound judgment and confidence in decision-making
- Calm, respectful approach to animal handling
- Strong communication coordination ability
- Accountability and integrity
- Ability to work cross-functionally
Working Conditions
- Busy barn environment with timelines and activities to coordinate
- Physically active
- Standing for long periods of time with some time spent in an office environment completing paperwork and reports
Education and Experience
- Diploma or degree in Animal Science, Agriculture, or a related field is an asset
- Equivalent hands-on experience will be considered
- Livestock Handling Experience
- Experience working with livestock (ideally swine, but not required)
- Strong understanding of low-stress animal handling practices
- Barn / Agricultural Environment
- Experience working in a barn, farm, or agricultural setting
- Familiarity with animal receiving, penning, or herd movement is a strong asset
- Operational / Flow Awareness
- Experience coordinating work in a fast-paced, physically active environment
- Ability to manage timing, flow, and competing priorities
- Supervisory or Leadership Experience
- Experience leading or directing a small team (even informally)
- Comfortable giving direction, correcting behaviour, and reinforcing standards
This is a new position.
Northern Farms does not use AI in any stage of the recruitment and selection process.
Pay: $70,000.00-$95,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Employee assistance program
- Life insurance
- Vision care
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Arthur, ON: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)
Work Location: In person
