Grainswest - Fall 2023

Fall 2023 Grains West 24 machinery correlate with Canadian farming. Farm workers from these countries are also generally inquisitive about Canadian agriculture. One of those hiring is Taylor Schmitt, a manager at Barr-Ag. The massive hay export operation based near Olds sends 120,000 tonnes of product abroad, including to the Middle East, Asia, the U.S. and across Canada. In hay, it is Canada’s leading exporter of non-GMO alfalfa, timothy and mixed hay. It also exports typical Prairie crops. With on-site compression, baling and containerizing, the farm is an all-in-one outfit that requires help 24/7/365. While Barr-Ag exports these products, it imports labour from around the world. Owing to a shortage of qualified locals, foreign workers first arrived here in 2010. The Schmitt family has hired a varying number every year since. With 100 employees, including about 20 seasonal foreign workers, the farm absolutely relies on outside labourers. Without them, “it would be a big hit on our work,” said Schmitt. Alberta’s lack of farm help is caused by “very explainable issues,” he said. By 20, farm kids often have a ticketed trade and are at work on their own family farm or in the oilpatch. “Most farm kids will take over the family farm and aren’t looking to work for other farming organizations,” he added. Since 2016, Schmitt has overseen the hiring of domestic and foreign workers. He has employed people from 18 countries that include Egypt, India, New Zealand and Scotland. Some come for a short time, keen to work hard at the farm in summer and ski equally hard in winter. They may stay one or two seasons or become long-term employees. The foreign marketplace is often easier to navigate, noted Schmitt. “We just don’t seem to have a lot of people in our area who are looking to work on a farm. We hire highly qualified Canadian people as well, but with the foreign workers, it’s the availability of people who have a farm background. They want to work on a farm, work the long hours and experience the difference in the farm styles. They want to learn something they can take home.” Schmitt makes it clear, as well, he primarily hires for skillset. Certain employees may be semi-conversant in English but are fluent in ability. FEATURE “We’re a multinational, multicultural company; that’s what we like,” said Schmitt. “We like bringing people in from different cultures who bring different experiences and ways of working and dealing with problems. It’s a big identity of ours.” Australia has been a particularly rich hiring ground. As employees tell friends about their Alberta experience, word of mouth within the agriculture community Down Under has slowly but surely created that talent pipeline. Barr-Ag’s old farm manager splits time between Alberta and Australia. When he is in Australia, he helps recruit by regularly directing eager Aussies seeking international experience to the hay business in Alberta. In some ways, the farm can’t afford to stop hiring abroad. Without foreign labour, said Schmitt, the business would have to scale back or be “fighting every step of the way” to remain productive. “We all learn a lot as a company having people from different cultures here with different ideas and ways to grow.” For the perspective of international farm workers, GrainsWest chatted with three now in Canada. “Most farm kids will take over the family farm and aren’t looking to work for other farming organizations.” — Taylor Schmitt Barr-Ag president Barry Schmitt oversees the export of 120,000 tonnes of product annually. The business has employed workers from 18 countries.