Category: Human Resources

No matter where you go in the world, farming happens. It can look very different, of course — from state-of-the-art rooftop greenhouses, to expansive, scrub pastures in Australia, to scratching out barely enough to eat from a tiny plot of land in Kenya. If agriculture looks so different, what’s there to learn from seeing how… Read More

Remember seasoned sergeant Phil Esterhaus (actor Michael Conrad) in Hill St. Blues, who warmly but firmly reminded the squad “Let’s be careful out there!” as they filed out of his daily briefing? Well, the same applies to farming – it’s safer than police work, but it certainly has its hazards, not the least of which… Read More

Mark Wales, a horticulture farmer from Elgin County, Ontario, has been named as the chairperson for the Agriculture and Agri-Food Labour Task Force (LTF). The LTF is moving forward with recommendations set out in its Agriculture and Agri-Food Labour Action Plan to address agricultural industry worker shortages. Wales is also the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource… Read More

Have you recently taken over the farm? Or are you about to begin the hand-over to the next generation? Or, just maybe, your New Year’s resolution was to up your farm business management game. Whatever your reasons, Jacqueline Gerrard, of Backswath Management, will be presenting some top management tips at Crop Connect ’15. The second… Read More

One more hit out of every 20 at bats — for a baseball player, that’s the difference between an elite .300 batting average and an only-okay .250 average. Over the length of a ballplayer’s career, that extra hit every five or so games will land a player in the Hall of Fame. It’s the difference… Read More

A recent survey suggested that 52% of family businesses don’t have a succession plans. Farms are family businesses — does that number sound about right to you? If so, there are thousands upon thousands of farms and farmers that are still dragging their feet on planning the long-term viability of their farm businesses. What will… Read More

Have you ever thought about the workplace culture on your farm or within your business? Good or bad, a culture will exist whether a manager or CEO has intentionally thought about it or not, says the former CEO of Walmart Canada. Culture is what drives a business — it’s the fabric of an organization, explains Mario… Read More

Finding people to work on farms is a major challenge in much of rural Canada. To understand the labour issues facing the ag sector, the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council is asking producers to complete a survey outlining their farms’ labour requirements. The Conference Board of Canada is conducting the survey on behalf of the CAHRC, seeking participation from… Read More

I suspect there are more people who’d elect for a non-necessary root canal than would like to strike up a conversation with dad about when he’ll finally hand over the reins to the farm. And that’s too bad, really, because the sooner the conversations about long-term farm business planning begin, the better chance there is… Read More

Agri-Food Management Excellence, Farm Management Canada and the family of Robert L. Ross have established the Robert L. Ross Memorial Scholarship program, rewarding one Canadian farmer with the opportunity to participate in the CTEAM program and “continue on a path towards excellence.” Robert (Bob) L. Ross was instrumental in inspiring and encouraging farm management excellence… Read More