NOC 84120: Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators

Specialized livestock workers carry out feeding, health and breeding programs on dairy, beef, sheep, poultry, swine and other livestock farms. Farm machinery operators operate and maintain farm machinery and equipment. They are employed on crop, livestock, fruit, vegetable and specialty farms.

Express Entry eligibility

• Skilled work (TEER 0 to 3): no, TEER 4 does not count for Express Entry.
• Canadian Experience Class: does not count.
• Federal Skilled Worker Program: does not count.
• Federal Skilled Trades Program: not one of the eligible trades.
• High-wage occupation (from November 3, 2026): no. No high-wage add-on, and a job offer in it earns no CRS points.

TEER 4: Occupations that usually need a high school diploma or several weeks of on-the-job training. Every program has other requirements too, such as language test results and, for FSW, a points test.

Category-based draws

NOC 84120 is not on any of IRCC’s occupation category lists. You can still be invited in general, Canadian Experience Class or other program draws if you qualify through other experience.

Category lists checked on canada.ca on 2026-10-17. IRCC category-based selection

CRS points for work in NOC 84120

None. Work in TEER 4 and 5 occupations earns no Canadian work points in the CRS.

See Canadian work points and the median-wage rule.

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

• Specialized livestock workers
• Perform or assist in performing animal husbandry activities
• Implement pasture or pen breeding programs
• Develop and implement feeding programs
• Follow safety and bio-security procedures
• Detect and treat certain diseases and health problems in livestock
• Maintain livestock performance records
• Select livestock for sale
• Set and monitor water lines, air flow and temperature in barns, pens and chicken coops
• Train horses
• Maintain inventory and order materials as required
• May be responsible for the collection of semen and the insemination of donor females
• May supervise general farm labourers.
• Farm machinery operators
• Operate farm equipment and machinery to till soil, plant, cultivate and harvest crops, and load and unload crops or containers of materials
• Perform equipment and machinery maintenance
• Monitor equipment and machinery operations to detect malfunctions
• Follow safety procedures
• May perform minor repairs to farm equipment and machinery.

For Express Entry your duties must match the lead statement and most of the main duties above.

Example job titles

• artificial inseminator
• cattle herdsperson
• dairy herdsperson
• farm machinery operator
• harvester machine operator
• horse trainer
• pork production technician
• swine herdsperson

Employment requirements

• Specialized livestock workers may require a college certificate or other specialized training in agriculture or livestock husbandry.
• There are no specific education or training requirements for farm machinery operators. However, a college certificate or specialized courses related to farming, such as farm equipment mechanics, agricultural welding and pesticide application, are available.
• Basic farm knowledge, usually obtained from working on a family farm, may be required for employment.
• A course or certificate in first aid may be required.

Similar jobs with a different code

• 82030Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
• 85101Harvesting labourers
• 85100Livestock labourers
• 80020Managers in agriculture