Incomes of dairy farmers vary greatly from year to year because prices of farm products fluctuate according to the quantity and quality of milk products and the demand for them. Farmworkers who manage and care for farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals had annual earnings of $26,560 in May 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The top 10 percent earned $41,840 or more and the lowest 10 percent earned $18,410. The DOL reports the following mean annual earnings in 2018 for various workers in the dairy products manufacturing industry:
- inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers: $44,480
- cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders: $39,250
- packaging and filling machine operators and tenders: $36,040
- food batchmakers: $35,640
- food cooking machine operators and tenders: $31,400
Dairy workers who move into a managerial position earn considerably more. The DOL reports that full-time, industrial production managers in dairy manufacturing earned mean annual salaries of $105,810. Full-time workers usually receive a full benefits package.
- Advertising Managers
- Agribusiness Technicians
- Agricultural Consultants
- Agricultural Equipment Technicians
- Agricultural Pilots
- Agricultural Scientists
- Animal Breeders and Technicians
- Animal Caretakers
- Animal Physical Therapists
- Apparel Industry Workers
- Appliance Service Technicians
- Aquaculturists
- Bakery Workers
- Beekeepers
- Beverage Industry Workers
- Biologists
- Biosecurity Monitors
- Botanists
- Brewers
- Business Managers
- Canning and Preserving Industry Workers
- Chemical Engineers
- Chemists
- Confectionery Industry Workers
- Cooks and Chefs
- Customer Service Representatives
- Dietetic Technicians
- Dietitians
- Ecologists
- Electrical Engineering Technologists
- Electrical Engineers
- Electronics Engineers
- Enologists
- Ethical Sourcing Officer
- Export-Import Specialists
- Family and Consumer Scientists
- Farm Crop Production Technicians
- Farm Equipment Mechanics
- Farmers
- Farmers' Market Managers/Promoters
- Fashion Designers
- Fast Food Workers
- Fishers
- Food Service Workers
- Food Technologists
- Furniture Designers
- Furniture Manufacturing Workers
- Grain Merchants
- Green Marketers
- Green Products Manufacturers
- Greeting Card Designers and Writers
- Groundwater Professionals
- Hardware Engineers
- Health and Regulatory Inspectors
- Horticultural Inspectors
- Industrial Designers
- Jewelers and Jewelry Repairers
- Market Research Analysts
- Marketing Managers
- Meatcutters and Meat Packers
- Molecular and Cellular Biologists
- Nursery Owners and Managers
- Nutritionists
- Organic Farmers
- Packaging Engineers
- Packaging Machinery Technicians
- Personal Chefs
- Plastics Products Manufacturing Workers
- Product Development Directors
- Product Management Directors
- Product Managers
- Quality Control Engineers
- Quality Control Technicians
- Radio Frequency Engineers
- Range Managers
- Restaurant and Food Service Managers
- Rubber Goods Production Workers
- Sales Managers
- Sales Representatives
- Silverware Artisans and Workers
- Software Engineers
- Soil Conservationists and Technicians
- Soil Scientists
- Sporting Goods Production Workers
- Tailors and Dressmakers
- Tobacco Products Industry Workers
- Toy Industry Workers
- Watch and Clock Repairers