Reading Time: 10 minutes Agriculture is changing. Innovation abounds. More new technology and better automation arrive every year. So it’s worse than ironic that our biggest shortfall is people power. But there it is. Without the right people, can our farms even hope to adopt the technological marvels that are supposed to propel them into the future? Mechanization is […] Read more
Crafting a new human resources plan for your farm
Don’t wait any longer. An HR management plan to protect the long-term success of your farm business could be worth working on now. Here’s why
Seven strategies of successful farmers
Here’s new evidence that business skills increase farm income, no matter what size the farm
Reading Time: 5 minutes With the harvest finally in the bin, farmers across the country are evaluating their farm management practices and they are making management decisions for the future. Business management skills are more important than ever as farmers face huge challenges, including unpredictable weather, volatile markets, labour shortages, succession, and much more. In this environment, a great […] Read more
How to deliver constructive criticism
Focus on end results to eliminate the emotional sting and to improve performance
Reading Time: 5 minutes If you’re like a lot of people, you’d rather do anything than give negative feedback. Even when it is well-intentioned, criticism isn’t easy to deliver. It’s anxiety-producing both for the giver of the negative feedback and for the receiver. As a result, most of us avoid giving negative feedback, which, of course, fixes nothing. Failing […] Read more
Dealing with problem employees effectively
Instead of firing them, use these tips to coach problem cases into good employees
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s getting tougher to find and keep good employees. Nor, by all indications, is the situation going to improve anytime soon. According to the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council’s newly released Labour Market Forecast for the next decade, farmers can expect an already tight labour market to get even tighter. According to the council’s survey […] Read more
Tapping into a new source of farm workers
Traditional labour supplies are running short. Why that may not be a bad thing
Reading Time: 5 minutes With farms getting bigger and with rural populations getting smaller, it’s no surprise you’re having trouble finding local employees with the farm skills and the experience you want. That doesn’t mean you have no options, however. The solution may be to look beyond candidates with ag experience and to begin to look in other sectors […] Read more
Want to be a more successful farmer? Find a mentor
How you can harness the power of mentorship
Reading Time: 4 minutes Research shows the five-year survival rate for small and medium enterprises jumps from fewer than half to more than 70 per cent if mentors are involved. That’s according to Virginia McGowan, a certified mentor who witnessed this powerful transformation while running a mentorship program for a group of 70 female entrepreneurs in Charlottetown, P.E.I. The […] Read more
Grow your people
On a global tour, Nuffield Scholar Reece Curwen finds the top farms always treat employees as an investment, not a cost
Reading Time: 5 minutes At 32, Reece Curwen farms with his family 500 kilometres south of Perth in Western Australia, where the farm produces canola, barley, wheat and sheep on 8,000 hectares. Yet although the farm is so geographically distant from Canada, when it comes to the people management side of farming, it might be right next door. As […] Read more
Reward positive behaviour
HR Management: If something is supposed to be a reward, it has to feel like one
Reading Time: 4 minutes With a tight labour market, farmers are looking for ways to attract and keep good employees. They naturally turn to incentives and rewards to try to keep employees happy and productive. However, getting it right when it comes to employee incentives is tricky business. “An incentive to one person can be poison to another,” explains […] Read more
How much did that off-colour joke cost you?
More than you probably think, because we all work harder and better in workplaces where we feel respected
Reading Time: 4 minutes If you think those off-colour jokes, sexist comments, or the occasional angry outburst are harmless, you should think again. The research is clear that rude behaviour can hurt your farm’s bottom line. For more than 20 years, Christine Porath, an associate professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., has […] Read more
A health plan that pays
It makes more and more sense to put your focus on employee health and wellness
Reading Time: 3 minutes Creating a safe, healthy and supportive workplace isn’t just good for your workers — it’s also good for your business. “The health of your workers is tied to the health of your business,” says Jade Reeve, a manager with the Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council (CAHRC), an Ottawa-based non-profit organization focused on addressing human resource […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
