🧑‍🌾 Farmer

A farmer is the owner or manager of a farm who raises and cares for domestic animals for milk, meat and other products. In the international classification of occupations ISCO-08, dairy farmers belong to group 6121, “Livestock and dairy producers”. According to FAO, about 150 million households worldwide produce milk.

What the job involves. Under ISCO-08, a farmer feeds and waters the animals, watches for illness, milks by hand or by machine, and manages reproduction: artificial insemination and help at calving. Farmers also store, partly process and sell milk. Europe's ESCO classification lists the related occupation of cattle breeder, caring for cattle health and welfare.

Animals have no days off. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that livestock farm work goes on all year, because animals need daily feeding and care, and many farmers work over 40 hours a week. Cows are usually milked twice a day; according to the University of Kentucky, a third milking adds about 3.6 kg of milk per cow daily.

Dairy is a mass activity. According to FAO, world milk production rose from 524 million t in 1992 to 930 million t in 2022, and in most developing countries small family farms supply it. The US had 788,700 farmers and agricultural managers in 2025, with median pay of $89,900 a year; their number is projected to fall 3% by 2035.

Why it matters to you. The milk in your glass starts with a farmer's decisions: what to feed the herd, how often to milk, when to let a cow rest before the next calving. A cow does not give milk constantly: lactation begins after calving and lasts about 300 days on average. Buying milk or cheese at a farm? Ask how the animals are kept: the farmer knows the herd best.