Just wondering, what are drivers earning hauling livestock?  Thanks

Some more than they're worth , most others not nearly enough . It's like being a cowboy , we don't do it for the money , it's a life style.

These comments are why the industry is in such a turmoil.Wage is wage and no banks deposit LIFESTYLE.I would be curious on the age of the above 2 responses 

I pay my driver 25% of gross for driving I max out at 25% of $3.40. Why the other guys don't say what they are getting I don't know. He has a lot of days when busy that he makes 550 to 600 a day.

You dont haul livestock for a living its your way of life.

48 this year if you're buying a card . I've been in this buisness long enough to have bought .90 diesel . You fight the back  haul mentality pirates long enough and you tend to settle for what you can live with . There are some of us out here who would really rather be on our horses pushing cows , but the only thing cheaper than bull hauler wages is cowboying.

That 25% works really well if you are working for someone that keeps you loaded everyday . That daily wage looks really good , but what does he average a week or gross for the year ? That's the bottom line. For that kind of money who is paying the payroll taxes ? We all know that there is a bunch of extra work hauling livestock that you don't get paid for . I.E. helping a buyer sort at the sale barn , washing out .shoveling out ,chipping out you trailer ,stopping to water the stock , bedding your trailer . If you own the truck you exccept these responsibilities as being a bull hauler .but if you are hireing a driver are you going to pay him everytime he washes out ,has to load by himself at a sale barn , waits for hours cause the calves aren't in ,chutes broke , buyer got drunk and didn't show ?Or are you going to say this is bull hauling ? At that piont it's a life style you get paid for .

I don't know the answer to it all, but the old days you sat a bit,got dirty, slept when you could and bitched to yourself with the window up.Each place has a method or way of getten by to achieve the goal,we as drivers just adapt to the location as well as the crap on the road to get the load in.A driver my be started at say 25% but if the company is forced to economical cuts so is the driver provided he/she is of good standards,ie,saven the owner some money it eventually will be a reflection of the driver's character and passed back in there favor.If you get a wage reduction that beats unemployment any day.Just remember that fuel surcharge comes off the top gross then driver pay,minus advances,out of route miles, damages to truck and so on,sit up pay attention all our lifestyles are at risk now due to 2010 RULE.....

well what a good subject,I really can see who is new and who is not.Chute broke calves,henz the word calves.Wow you are new.and should not talk to loud.25% i think is good money and that eould pay for your job

Flat lander reread The Chute is BROKE ! comma The Calves Are Not In !

NOT CHUTE BROKE CALVES ! WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN ANYWAY !

I didn't say 25% was bad ,just not good if you are not loaded all the time , you can be working for free real fast if you have to start makeing big hops to get to a load .  . For the driver it can be bad if you end up doing a lot of extra work for nothing if you don't know what is expected for that pay .

You might better clean your glasses there "old timer", kinda looks to me like he meant "the chute broke". 

25 % Is good, even loaded 50% of the time as long as you don't haul for these cut rate brokers that think you should run less than 50% loaded for .40 cents or more less than what the rate should be.

You know you fellas puttin this guy down sayin "Wow you are new!" and all the other comments ought to be ashamed of yourselves...

This guy-who might be new- had a genuine question as do most other questions on these here forums that these so-called oldtime cowhaulers put down saying "you don't know the business then get out..." and so forth.

I am relatively new to the business, but am 3rd generation livestock hauler.  I road with my dad before I could walk, i can run cows and hogs and run my pete with the best of ya, but just because of that does that mean I know everything about  the business of cowhauling, especially current rates and such? hell no I don't.  Thats why the younger generation ASKS QUESTIONS that are calling on these old-timers for ADVICE.  Funny situation ain't it?

We are the new generation, now you can help shape our generation of cowhaulers into successful, RESPECTABLE business men or you can keep kicking us in the face with your remarks and keep this industry in a downward spiral.

Thanks from all of us new fellas to those who give us advice, you have our respect, and will always look up to you.  For the rest of you grumpy smarta**  "oldtimers", it sucks to BURN BRIDGES.  Trust me we won't forget.

most are paid 15 to 20 percent

yup and the old timers are the guys popping the pill to run with the new generation or you keep a straw in your ashtray? i watched it happen right in front of me in MT, and buddy WI is Flat, guess you dont get around much anymore do ya old timer, stop putting guys down, ive been doing this job my whole life, and was born and raised around it, my dad still hauls, my uncles still do, and if my grandfather didnt pass, he'd still be doing it, nobody has the answers to everything that goes on, i sure dont, but i turn to the guys i know wont sit on this load board and stab me in the back, or put me or anybody else down for doing the same chicken stratching in your comic books that you did! ppl we either work together or we continue to cut each others throats? i haul for the same guys my dad does, my uncles do and my grandfather did,  none of us load hogs for less that $3.40 and we load alot of hogs everyweek for these ppl, god bless them for for not running good haulers for some under cutting rejected that couldnt make it cowboying!

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Well, I want to throw my 2 cents in to! 25% of the gross of the truck is a good place to start as a company driver. As for the old timers, they really are a good bunch of guys and gals to haul with there just set in there ways and have a hard time dealing with the new ( I KNOW EVERY THING) generation! But hang in there if you can do the job then great if ya cant I dont know what to tell ya.