In the final instalment of our Making the Future series Country Guide spoke with Beth Martel from St. Leon, Man. (Click here to read part one, part two, part three and part four.)
Beth Martel grew up in Wales, U.K., and moved with her family to Manitoba in 2001, where they purchased a mixed cattle operation. After studying agribusiness at Assiniboine Community College in Brandon, she moved to St. Leon where she now farms with her husband, Pierre. She also runs an agronomy business, FM Agronomy, that provides variable rate prescriptions, soil sampling and crop scouting to growers in south central Manitoba.
Read Also
The farm isn’t just a great place to grow up
Growing up I wanted to farm. I laugh now because what I defined as farming when I was young is…
Country Guide: Why did you decide on a career in the agriculture industry?
Beth Martel: Growing up in Wales, you’d find me at the local cattle market, horse riding or playing in the dirt. I have always been drawn to agriculture, and after working in the variable rate field, I enjoyed doing what I was doing. So, when the opportunity came to be an independent agronomist, I took it. I also have three young children, so I knew I wanted my own business to give me the flexibility I need to switch roles when I need to.
CG: What is your perception of the Canadian ag industry today? What excites you about it?
BM: The agriculture industry is always growing. I love that the industry is like a big family; you make a lot of friends with the people you meet along the way and those people stay with you for years.
CG: What expectations did you have coming into the industry and how do they compare with your actual experience? As a young person coming into the ag industry, have you found it difficult to earn people’s trust and confidence, to show that you know what you are doing?
BM: Being a woman in agriculture is completely different than just being in agriculture because people are pretty much going to trust what a man says over a woman because men have been in the industry, in all the different roles, for a lot longer.
But whoever you are, getting growers trust doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a while to build someone’s confidence in you. My approach is that if I don’t know the answer, I am going to be honest with them that I don’t know and go back and find the answers using my resources.
CG: What are your personal career goals and what new ideas and fresh approaches do you have to help benefit agriculture?
BM: I am not a huge business. I am on my own, so I focus on giving that one-on-one attention to every grower that I have. I hope I can grow my business, although I still want to always maintain that one-on-one connection. I think that relationships are still very important in agriculture.
CG: How do you feel about the future of the ag industry?
BM: I think that the technology side of things will be helpful in the future, but it’s not going to replace people or their relationships. I know that there have been some things tried with artificial intelligence, but most farmers don’t want that. They want people to be in the field. They are not prepared to rely one hundred percent on computers and technology.
CG: If one day your children came to you and said they were considering a career in ag, what area of the industry would you encourage them to look at? Where do you see the best opportunities?
BM: Be open to your opportunities! Use the tools that are provided to help you. Take those marketing courses, take the knowledge, take the basics! As a woman in ag it was a challenge to get where I am today. For my daughter, if she wants to proceed with agriculture, I will tell her to never give up. Set your mind on what you want and go for it!
