Those in agriculture have been encouraged to “tell their story” for years, all in the name of maintaining the social license to operate, or to gain acceptance and understanding of farm practices by the public. But there’s another reason for farmers and agri-business owners to tell a good story: to attract and retain great staff… Read More
Category: Human Resources
The federal government will extend the Agri-Food Pilot until May 14, 2025. Launched in May 2020, the pilot program is designed to facilitate the transition of agricultural and food industry workers to permanent residency in Canada. Recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce is key to success for Canadian farmers and food processors, the government says…. Read More
For any farmer, focusing on learning and development allows them to continuously improve in a vast amount of areas. As agriculture evolves, so do agronomic practices, risk management tools, and technological advancements. By constantly learning and expanding their skillset, farmers can identify new opportunities, increase profitability, and productivity. Developing new skills can also improve problem-solving… Read More
The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) has begun the process of searching for the next president and CEO of the organization, now that current president Jim Everson has announced he is leaving. Everson will continue in the role until a new president and CEO is in place. The executive committee of the CCC board has… Read More
It’s easy to assume that today’s farmer is bombarded with salespeople trying to get them to buy products for the farm. After all, buying farm products, inputs in particular, is very predictable. In the fall farmers will begin purchasing seed for next year, then book fertilizer, and chemical, etc. This differs from livestock farmers that… Read More
Many entrepreneurs struggle with finding the right people to join their team. Right now, the employment market is also very tight as supply is low, and competitiveness for workers is so strong. So much attention is paid to the recruitment of new employees, but how often do we actually focus on the onboarding process? Research… Read More
It was Albert Einstein that said, “When you stop learning, you start dying” In today’s world of fast-paced change and competitiveness, farmers and ranchers face immense challenges on a daily basis. All entrepreneurs face the stiff challenge of staying current, but not everyone views or tackles the skills gap the same. In February, RealAgristudies dove… Read More
There are talents we’re born with, and then there are skills we develop. Even our talents, without practice or work, can only get us so far. Learning and development really never ends, if you think about it, and some of us truly lean in to on-going training, improving, and learning, but some of us just… Read More
Regardless of the topic — from marketing and production, to human resource management and goal setting — if farmers set out to learn about something, it made them hungry to learn even more. That’s according to the Farmer skill development survey, that ran in late February to early March, 2023 run by RealAgristudies. Over 75o participants… Read More
There are many parallels between coaching and team sports and running an effective work force. Leveraging skill sets, managing personality conflicts, goal setting, and teamwork are just as relevant during the seeding season or harvest as they are on the pitch or playing field. For this episode of the Mind Your Farm Business podcast, host… Read More
Corteva AgriScience has shuffled the leadership deck in Canada replacing Bryce Eger with Jeremy Dirks, according to a company spokesperson. Dirks will now be vice president, Canada Commercial Unit for Corteva Agriscience Canada. Dirks most recently served as project management office leader for Corteva at Johnston, Iowa. Dirks previously held roles establishing the company’s role… Read More
Given how demographics are shifting, it’s only going to get more difficult to find new employees for the farm. Looking bigger picture to agriculture as a whole, there are far more career opportunities than there are those lining up to work. While there are longer-term issues that need attention, in the short-term farms have immediate seasonal… Read More
There’s a saying that goes hire slow and fire fast. But does that old adage hold true? Amber Johnson, CEO and owner of Forge Performance Group, based in Alberta, says that there isn’t a simple answer to that; if you’ve done the right preparation work ahead of time, asked key questions, and offered a comprehensive… Read More
The Canadian Agricultural HR Council (CAHRC) has received funding from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), for Growing the Agriculture Workforce of the Future: Cultivating Canada’s Post-Pandemic Recovery. This funding is part of ESDC’s Sectoral Workplace Solutions Program (SWSP) that helps key sectors of the economy implement solutions to address their current and emerging workforce… Read More
For our latest poll, we’ve asked the question: how do you get new equipment operators some seat time? The poll is still up (so feel free to participate, here), but so far we’ve received some interesting feedback, which is worth a discussion. Almost half of participants so far have said that they’ll send new recruits… Read More