Grainswest - Fall 2023

Fall 2023 Grains West 26 FEATURE CHLOE HYDE General farmworker at Kobi Land and Cattle Co., Coronation Aussies such as Chloe Hyde often serve as lifties for a season or two at Canadian ski hills. When she arrived in November 2022, it was straight to Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna, B.C., for a season of work and play on the slopes. The 25-year-old from Ongerup, Western Australia, grew up on a sheep and grain farm and knew she wanted to try her hand at country life in Alberta once she ended her ski job in spring 2023. She contacted International Rural Exchange Canada, a go-between group that links farm managers with eager international workers. Since April, she’s been hard at work on a mixed farm in southeastern Alberta. It seems Prairie farming is in her genes. Her parents Greg and Sarah met in 1992 while working at neighbouring Manitoba farms. Hyde’s own experience has been positive. “It’s been good, it’s been different,” she said. “We don’t have cows, so coming during calving was new, but good; very intense. Right now, we’re haying, which we also don’t do at home.” Her days are varied. Like most farm hands, she has already done nearly every farm task imaginable. “We’re still bottle feeding a few calves, so in the morning I feed what’s left and clean up,” she said. “I’ll be getting out on the rake and raking all the swaths. You never know what’s going to happen in a day on a farm.” This farm has a diverse crew, too—a 75-year-old retiree, a Swiss farm worker, the farmer’s son and his friend. Hyde appreciates the eclectic group. In part, she took the job to better understand Canada’s farming systems. “I thought how cool it would be to go and experience a farm somewhere else and see how they do it differently or better,” she said. Hyde herself knows it’s hard to find good help. Her parents hired a Canadian this past year to work as a farmhand at their operation due to shortages of local Australian workers. “It’s a challenge with any farmer, really,” admitted Hyde. Her days are on average nine to 10 hours, but usually 12 to 14 during busier times. “Help is hard to find. Not just people that can work, but people who are happy to put in hard work and long hours and stay for longer than a few weeks or a month. I was raised working on the farm. Long hours are just something I know. It comes hand in hand with running a farm.” Following her stint as a farmhand, she intends to head back to the ski hills around November but would like to work at the farm for a second season and maximize her two-year work visa. Beyond this, she has no plans. “I thought how cool it would be to go and experience a farm somewhere else and see how they do it differently or better.” — Chloe Hyde