Ingrid Bussjaeger-Martin, managing director for Finance and IT at Fendt, (centre) facilitates Fendt’s “Female Career Day” in Germany in June, which hosted 50 young women participants.

The diversity gap

The slow progress by equipment manufacturers on racial and ethnic diversity is in marked contrast to their success with women

Reading Time: 6 minutes Canada’s population is becoming increasingly diverse. Statistics Canada estimates that immigrants made up roughly 22 per cent of the population in 2016, and our country expects to welcome over 400,000 more per year until 2024. This will almost certainly result in a continually growing percentage of visible minorities among Canada’s working age people over the […] Read more

For Laura Lazo and Marijo Patino, immigrating to Canada meant somehow finding new agricultural roots. It’s a story women across the country know all to well.

Different goals for women in ag

It turns out diversity, equity and inclusion in agriculture are things we can do something about, as this case study proves

Reading Time: 8 minutes Statistics show that women in agriculture face barriers and are under-represented in the industry. But if you are female AND you weren’t born in Canada AND you didn’t grow up on a farm, imagine how high the barriers are then. But that may be beginning to change. Entrepreneur Laura Lazo, who also serves as chair […] Read more


More than ever, becoming inclusive is both a moral responsibility and a business imperative in Canadian agriculture.

Facing facts

It’s still very early days, but agriculture is on its way to becoming a more diverse and inclusive sector

Reading Time: 11 minutes Canadian agriculture has a problem and needs to talk about it. Partly, it’s a human resource issue. Every year, Canada’s farms and agricultural businesses fall further behind. More and more traditional farm jobs go unfilled while, at the same time, new job descriptions are being created that demand even harder-to-find skills and vision. And it […] Read more

“Our brains work against inclusion,” warns diversity expert Michael Bach, who adds that economic research shows how good inclusivity is for the farm.

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


Agricultural expert inspecting quality of ripe corn

The inclusive, prosperous farm

Looking to boost your farm’s numbers? Bring a diverse work force to the job, and set them up to perform at their best

Reading Time: 5 minutes As farm businesses grow and become more complex, farmers are recognizing the importance of harnessing the full potential of the farm’s human resources. This means creating an inclusive workplace where both male and female members of the team can thrive and help the farm business meet its goals. A diverse workforce, it turns out, will […] Read more

What’s your cultural intelligence quotient?

What’s your cultural intelligence quotient?

Creating an environment that welcomes and is open to other cultures actually helps boost farm performance

Reading Time: 4 minutes Along with the country overall, our rural communities are becoming much more culturally diverse. The evidence is that this is a good thing for agriculture. Research shows that diversity enhances innovation in the workplace. As well, agriculture relies on newcomers to fill the growing demand for workers in the industry. However, diversity in the workplace […] Read more