A ten-week contract through the spring calving block at Hoeve Lunteren, where around 260 Holstein cows calve inside nine weeks. You are in the straw yard with the herd manager on the busiest nights of our year.

What you will do

Check the calving pens every two hours on your shift and call the herd manager early rather than late when a cow is not progressing
Get four litres of tested colostrum into every newborn calf within two hours of birth and log it in the herd management system
Keep the calving yard deep-bedded and clean — fresh straw daily, no exceptions, however late the hour runs
Tag, weigh and register each calf with RVO within the legal three-day window
Move fresh cows into the transition group and flag any retained cleansing, milk fever or ketosis to the herd manager the same shift

What we are looking for

Calm hands around cattle under pressure; calving is the one job where panic makes everything worse
Willing to work a night rota for the length of the block — nights are paid at the CAO night rate
Any livestock background counts: dairy, beef, sheep, or a previous calving season anywhere in Europe
Enough English or Dutch to hand over clearly at shift change
Non-EU applicants welcome — we file the seasonal work permit and arrange on-farm housing in Lunteren

Good to know

Season: Spring block calving — February to April
Department: Herd Care
Open to non-EU nationals — we sponsor the seasonal work permit