GrainsWest Spring 2020

Spring 2020 Grains West 42 “In a normal career as a teacher, every year you’re going to get a pay increase,” she said. “Yes, we do give pay increases, but with the depressed global market, how much can we keep doing to increase the wages? You really have to look at some of the other benefits of living out in the country.” Wide open spaces may be an initial draw, but country life is often too isolating for those unaccustomed. Another ongoing thorn in Prairie farmers’ fannies is the nearby oil and gas sector, where agriculture is always the bridesmaid and never the bride. Farming wages have simply never been able to compete. Cale Hubka knows this reality all too well. The southern Alberta forage producer simultaneously supports and loathes the oil and gas sector. “In the last 10 to 15 years there have been ups and downs in the oil patch. Workers get laid off, don’t have work, and are looking for something else to do,” said Hubka. “I’m very reluctant to hire them because as soon as the oil patch picks up, they’re gone. If their resume states that they’ve been in the oilfield for a number of years, I don’t even look at them anymore.” Hubka typically employs anywhere from 11 to 13 workers at peak times, paying at least $19 per hour. His core full-timers also receive health benefits. Although he has been dissatisfied with the attitude of certain Canadian workers over the years, he found a failsafe a world away: Kiwis. Since 2007, he’s turned to eager New Zealanders for on-farm support. The country is brimming with young people curious for Canadian experience and adventure. To top it off, the nation is heavily into ag, meaning Hubka’s future employees arrive pre-loaded with relevant experience. “If I need a baling operator, there are people to pick from in New Zealand that have lots of baling experience,” he said. “Training is minimal with these guys and the seasons work really well. They have no family to deal with, no holidays, they don’t care about any of that. They work hard, put in the hours and show up to work every day.” He requires his foreign workers to independently obtain working holiday visas while in New Zealand before arriving in Canada, giving him one less administrative task to complete. Being in forages, Hubka often finds himself trucking product. Finding and retaining drivers is always on his mind. If a driver or two suddenly could not haul for him, work grinds to a halt, just like at Bellamy’s farm. Following the tragic highway crash in Saskatchewan that killed 16 players and staff from the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team, changes to trucking legislation were implemented under the provincial NDP government. Now, anyone wanting a class 1 licence must FEATURE Durumwheat harvest is underway at Hubka Farms. On page 40, a selection of the operation’s trucks and implements sit ready to work.