Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) is looking to fund agriculture training programs for Indigenous participants this winter, it announced today.
CAHRC puts out funding call for Indigenous training initiatives
Funds to be accessed Feb. to March., with deadline to apply at end of January
The path to attracting workers
Reading Time: 2 minutes [UPDATED: Mar. 6, 2023] Farm labour was a hot topic at the annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture in Ottawa March 6 and 7. Jennifer Wright, executive director of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council, led a panel discussion that delved into the size and scope of the issue and some of the […] Read more
Keeping workers on the farm
Scientific HR really can help ensure your farm business has the people and skills it needs
Reading Time: 8 minutes There are multiple moving parts to any busy farm, and there have to be just as many to a sound HR plan too. You can pretty quickly run out of fingers if you try to count them. There’s recruitment, retention, training, evaluation … the list goes on and on. But that doesn’t mean HR has […] Read more
Tap into these labour markets
Labour is harder to find than ever, and the future isn’t looking any better
Reading Time: 5 minutes “It’s grim,” admits Nita Chhinzer, professor of human resources in the department of management at the University of Guelph. It’s a function of demographics, she says. Our population is aging, the pool of young replacements is thin, and our immigration policies are tilted in favour of those at the mid-to upper stages of their careers. […] Read more
Overcoming personal biases
You think you’re not biased. So put it to the test
Reading Time: 3 minutes Do you stand with your arms crossed when you talk to an employee or family member about work? Do you ignore some people when they share ideas or contribute to a conversation? Are you cheerful when you say good morning to some work colleagues, but others not so much? These are all warning signs of […] Read more
Me? I’m not biased!
We all have unconscious biases. Acknowledging this isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s smart too
Reading Time: 6 minutes The truth is, it has probably happened to all of us. We meet someone for the first time and we walk away saying, “Wow, they’re a lot different that I thought they’d be.” Maybe we don’t think there’s a reason, but if we probed just a little, we’d often find it’s a sign our unconscious […] Read more
Breaking the silence of racism
When we give sexist and racist comments and stereotypes a free pass on our farms and in our daily lives, we’re guilty of perpetuating them
Reading Time: 6 minutes Too often we let racist, sexist or homophobic comments slide because it’s awkward or uncomfortable to call them out. But as human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Here’s how Bronwynne Wilton, a Fergus, Ont. […] Read more
Alberta farm builds labour diversity into its core
Is there a better way to find and retain farm employees in Canada’s tough market? Van Raay Paskal Farms figured there must be, with innovative thinking and a readiness to look to non-traditional sources
Reading Time: 9 minutes The sun is barely up but VRP Farms Ltd., a half hour north of Lethbridge, is already humming. Pen riders saddle their horses and barn labourers are shipping, sorting and processing. Feed drivers put their trucks in gear, operators of high hoes and manure trucks shuttle about the site, and truck drivers back up to […] Read more
Does your farm team have the skills your farm needs the most?
Summer can be the best time of year to ask
Reading Time: 9 minutes First, let’s start with something everyone can agree on. Investing in developing the skills of the farm team is vital for the continued success of every farm. It’s documented by Farm Management Canada’s Dollars and Sense study too, and by the finding that the number one practice of Canada’s top farmers — in other words, […] Read more
In search of new employees for the farm
If it seems you’ve looked everywhere for new employees, maybe it’s time to try a new way of hiring
Reading Time: 7 minutes We keep hearing the numbers. The farm employment crisis is real, and it is getting worse with over 100,000 farm workers expected to retire in the 2020s, and a dwindling number of candidates from traditional sources to replace them. So, why not go to non-traditional sources? Or maybe there are better ways to let potential […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
