Grainswest - Fall 2023

Fall 2023 grainswest.com 23 C anadian agriculture continues to suffer the firsthand effects of a shrinking labour force. The average age of Canadian farmers has been on the increase for more than 20 years with no sign of reversal. By the latest estimate, Canada will be 30,000 farm workers short by 2033. This is both a crisis and an opportunity. A report recently released by RBC pegs Canada among the worst situated countries to handle the scarcity of low- and high-skilled help. In short, the fix is more bodies. The more nuanced solution is to build a continuous talent pipeline. The report’s recommendations are to maintain high immigration, push ag at the collegiate level and rapidly adopt more autonomous technology. Some finger COVID-19 as the culprit, but the labour shortage has been ongoing for decades and has now acutely come home to roost, said Jennifer Wright, executive director at the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council in Ottawa, ON. She calls the situation critical. “Over the years, it was probably something that could be managed if people worked a little bit longer in a day or there were ways to accommodate it,” she said. “Now that’s just not possible in many respects. “Even before the pandemic, the industry was losing close to $3 billion in sales because of not being able to find enough workers, not being able to expand operations,” she said. Over the last few years, labour scarcity has forced the worst possible outcome for certain farmers. “We’re seeing farmers choose to exit the industry, or they’re reducing their production because it’s just too much of a challenge,” said Wright. Canada does have small laurels to rest on. At 1.9 per cent total enrolment, Canada is two-tenths above the G20 average for enrolment in post-secondary agriculture programs. This is one percentage point above the U.S. and 1.2 per cent beyond Australia, which ranks last on RBC’s list. The report also notes Canadian research funding severely lags that of countries with comparable farm sectors. It notes: “Public investments represent the largest source of funding for Canada’s agriculture R&D at CAD $450 million in 2020, but private in-house R&D lags by comparison at CAD $108 million. And Canadian firms invest less on average in R&D than foreign firms.” The report does conclude Canada can counter these issues. “However, with the right approach, this acute disadvantage can become a generational advantage,” it states. “By increasing the immigration of skilled farmers, encouraging colleges and universities to bring students of all backgrounds into the sector, and investing in innovative solutions to automate and reduce on-farm labour, Canada can lead the world into a new era of low carbon farming.” For their part, Canadian farmers often simply hire foreigners. Many come from nations such as Australia, New Zealand and certain European countries where the scale of operation and Barr-Ag (top and bottom), a large hay and crop export business near Olds, relies on labourers frommany nations. Here, a worker prepares products for transport.