If you’re thinking of asking for a raise but know that conversations about money can be awkward — especially if the boss is mom or dad — then you’ll want to listen to this week’s episode of Awkward Ag for step-by-step advice.

Click on the links below to watch more videos in the Awkward Ag series:

Is your parents’ accountant the best fit for the farm?

Sharing your final wishes with family

Responding to advice, whether you wanted it or not

Managing ‘not-so-good’ vibrations

Trying to find work-life balance on the farm

Taking awkwardness out of farm family discussions

The post VIDEO: How to ask for a raise on the farm appeared first on Country Guide.

In this week’s episode of Awkward Ag, Patti Durand answers a letter signed by “Trying to Find Balance” who asks Patti what they can say to other farm team members who make them feel guilty about trying to find a work-life balance. Do you need some advice on how to have an awkward conversation with someone on the farm? Send your questions to astewart@farmmedia.com. (Don’t worry, we’ll keep it anonymous.)

Click on the links below to watch more videos in the Awkward Ag series:

Is your parents’ accountant the best fit for the farm?

Sharing your final wishes with family

Responding to advice, whether you wanted it or not

Managing ‘not-so-good’ vibrations

How to ask for a raise on the farm

Taking awkwardness out of farm family discussions

The post VIDEO: Trying to find work-life balance on the farm appeared first on Country Guide.

Last week, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced a plan to cut the number of temporary residents in Canada to curb population growth from 2025 to 2027.

“Canada’s temporary population will decrease over the next few years as significantly more temporary residents will transition to being permanent residents or leave Canada compared to new ones arriving,” the feds say.

“(This) is expected to result in a marginal population decline of 0.2 percent in both 2025 and 2026, before returning to a population growth of 0.8 percent in 2027.”

Some business groups are concerned about this policy and the availability of workers, but it isn’t a threat for agri-food processors, said Lauren Martin, senior director of government relations and policy with the meat council.

“Peeling back the layers… there were no new measures announced,” she said. “There wasn’t anything new for agri-food.”

In March, the federal government adjusted the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, reducing the maximum number of TFWs that a business could employ from 30 to 20 per cent of their staff.

In August, the feds went a step further, capping the number of foreign workers at 10 per cent.

Health care, construction and the agri-food industry were exempt from the August reduction to 10 per cent.

The policy change in March was disruptive for meat packers across Canada, which rely heavily on foreign workers, Martin said.

The meat industry has since adjusted to the TFW cap.

“Where we were in the spring is not where we are today…. I think there is less panic, now.”

It’s also encouraging that the tone of conversations has shifted in Ottawa, Martin said.

Federal ministers and bureaucrats seem to understand that agriculture and agri-food needs a consistent supply of foreign workers.

“I think I’ve received enough of an assurance, from different departments, that agri-food is going to be a bit of a (protected) workforce,” Martin said.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is still reviewing the recent change in immigration policy, but it appears the government comprehends that many farms cannot survive without foreign workers.

Fruit and vegetable growers, pork producers, beekeepers and other producers need foreign labour.

“What’s most important is that government (has) recognized the importance of the TFW program … to agriculture, and how we rely on that program,” said Keith Currie, CFA president and a farmer from Collingwood, Ont.

“They’ve left us alone, basically. They made an exemption for us.”

Despite the use of foreign labour, it’s possible that 30,000 positions remain vacant on Canadian farms, Currie said.

The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council has estimated that on-farm agriculture businesses lost $3.5 billion in sales in 2022 because they didn’t have the necessary workforce.

“If we didn’t not have the 70,000 seasonal ag workers that are coming in … what would that look like for a production standpoint?” Currie said. “Particularly in the (horticultural) industry, where the majority of (foreign) workers go, it would be devastating.”

In its Oct. 24 announcement, the immigration department said it wants more temporary residents — workers and students — to become permanent residents of Canada.

That policy could be helpful for agri-food processors such as meat packers, which employ workers throughout the year.

Companies use the TFW program to attract workers to Canada with the goal of keeping those employees in the country for the long haul.

“If they want more permanent residents that are going to fill the jobs that food and beverage manufacturing industry has, then yes, that’s a good thing,” said Martin, who added that immigration policy is extremely complicated.

The government has decided to limit the number of temporary residents in Canada — workers and students — which will constrain population growth.

It’s unclear what this will mean for the economy, including agriculture and food.

“Canada has a demographic problem. We do not have the folks we need to replace (the people) who are retiring,” Martin said.

“If you’re reducing immigration numbers … what are you going to do to productivity and output?”

The post ‘Less panic’ over new immigration policy  appeared first on Country Guide.

“While these technologies [automation, data analytics, etc.] hold the potential to optimize production and enable data-driven decision-making,” the report said, “their adoption has led to increased demand for workers with higher levels of education and skills.”

According to the report, published at the end of July, adoption of precision technologies like GPS guidance, yield mapping and variable rate application has been growing steadily. This is most prominent on large-scale farms. Sixty-four per cent of farms with revenues over $1 million use some kind of precision technology.

The report said that, in light of agriculture’s persistent labour challenges and its aging workforce, businesses may increasingly turn to automation. However, it also called adoption of technology “lethargic.” It attributed this to the perception of insufficient return on investment, lack of government support, and lack of in-house expertise.

Technology adoption will increase the need for certain roles and decrease demand for others.

The report put the top five fastest-growing agricultural jobs as nursery and greenhouse labours, truck drivers, landscape and horticulture technicians, animal care workers, and biological technologists and technicians.

The top five fastest declining roles are agriculture managers, specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators, livestock labourers, harvesting labourers, and accountants and bookkeepers.

Automation technology adoption in the agri-food workforce will require a more educated workforce.

“The skills most in demand for the future agriculture workforce are product design, digital production, and digital literacy,” the report said.

The Conference Board of Canada recommended investment in education programs to develop worker proficiency with “digital tools, product design, and complex problem-solving and emphasize soft skills such as adaptability.”

It also recommended promotion of the role of farming and food production in the economy, particularly the need for tech-savvy workers.

The post A third of agricultural jobs could be automated in next decade, report says appeared first on Country Guide.

“Canada needs a veterinary workforce enhancement program that supports expansion and innovation of clinical teaching, training, and research,” said Canadian Veterinary Medical Association president Trevor Lawson in a news release today.

The CVMA said it visited Parliament Hill today to call for more investments in programs to shore up the industry and for mental health support for veterinary workers.

The profession is facing a worker shortage that “poses a significant threat,” the CVMA said.

Between 2022 and 2031, 5,000 veterinary jobs will open due to expansion and replacement needs while only 4,300 job seekers will be available to fill them, the CVMA website says.

The shortage of vets and veterinary workers has been an ongoing topic of concern.

A 2020 survey of Western Canadian vet clinics showed that of 526 practices, 44 per cent of them were looking to fill 281 positions. Practices that had recently hired new workers reported it could take anywhere from three to 12 months to hire someone.

The data suggested that mixed animal practices, which likely are representative of rural and small-town clinics, struggled most to fill openings.

The shortage makes it difficult for vets to provide care, the CVMA said. It also threatens veterinary workers’ well-being, with a survey of Canadian vets showing that more than 89 per cent were suffering from burnout.

The CVMA said the shortage could be addressed by recruiting internationally trained veterinarians, by setting up a national testing centre for vets trained outside of Canada, and by dedicating cash to veterinary infrastructure.

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“Workers tend to point to low pay and limited career growth as the main reasons they are less interested in agriculture [jobs],” says a new ‘state of the industry’ report from the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC).

The report, released today, quantifies the current agricultural labour deficit, drawing heavily on surveys done with employers and employees in 2023. The Conference Board of Canada conducted the study on CAHRC’s behalf.

The report noted that worker turnover is at a record high. In 2022, the voluntary turnover rate of agriculture jobs was 14 per cent, up from 10 per cent in 2018. The Canada-wide rate in 2022 was 7.7 per cent.

This varies widely across various types of agricultural jobs. Aquaculture jobs have a voluntary turnover rate of less than five per cent–the lowest of all ag sectors surveyed. Dairy comes in second-lowest with just under 10 per cent. “Support activities for farms” has the highest turnover rate of more than 20 per cent, closely followed by poultry and egg farming.

When asked why they thought employees weren’t sticking around, employers ranked “work is too physical” as the leading reason, with low pay and benefits as the second, and long working hours in third.

When asked what factors limited their interest in agriculture, more than half of employees said low wages and benefits. Limited career paths or opportunities for advancement came second, followed by low job security.

Less than 20 per cent said physical labour was a problem, as compared to nearly 40 per cent of employers. Just over 10 per cent said long hours was an issue, compared to about 30 per cent of employers.

CAHRC noted it surveyed people currently employed in agriculture.

The results suggest employers who prioritize wages and career opportunities could improve retention, CAHRC said.

The average agricultural wage is a bit less than $20 per hour, while the average Canadian wage is just over $25 per hour, the report said. Greenhouse and nursery, and fruit and vegetable workers tend to be the lowest paid. Grain and oilseed workers tend to be the highest-paid farm labourers, with an average wage of about $25 per hour. However, this still puts it behind manufacturing, which averages just above $25, and construction, which is just under $30 per hour.

None of these can compete, wage-wise, with oil and gas–its average wage is just shy of $40 per hour.

Yet, CAHRC noted that higher wages alone doesn’t eliminate vacancies.

Grain and oilseed farm worker wages are the highest in agriculture, yet these farms have a job vacancy rate of seven per cent. That’s lower than other agricultural sectors, but above the Canadian average of nearly six per cent.

“Employers in grain and oilseed struggle with recruiting because of their rural location, seasonal hours and manual labour needs,” the report said.

Employees also noted that work environment and management were important. Nearly 30 per cent cited poor management as their primary reason for leaving jobs.

Supply and demand

In general labour outlook, CAHRC reported that more than 28,200 jobs went unfilled during the peak season in 2022. Labour shortages caused a 3.7 per cent decline in sales in 2022, which resulted in lost sales worth an estimated $3.5 billion.

Agricultural employers are increasingly turning to foreign workers. Between 2017 and 2022, the number of foreign workers increased by more than 30 per cent.

CAHRC estimated that the domestic labour gap in the ag sector will increase 15 per cent by 2030. An aging population will be a key driver, as the ag industry will see over 85,300 retirements in the next eight years.

“Even with four out of five of otherwise vacant positions expected to be filled by foreign workers, 22,200 jobs will still be vacant during peak season… by the end of the decade,” the report said.

Crop production industries are projected to have the largest number of vacant jobs, with 15,200 in 2030.

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