LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
LABOUR PRESSURES ADD UP
Editor,
T
hese are exciting times to work
within the agricultural industry. New
innovations, technology and trade deals
abound—and Canada is well positioned as
a global leader. However, labour short-
ages are impacting Canada’s agricultural
industry and may cause it to fall short of its
potential. These impacts include the aging
demographic of Canada’s workforce, the
highly physical nature of farm work and its
rural and sometimes remote locations. All
these add up to fewer available workers.
These employment pressures make it
especially important for those within the
ag industry to focus on the people side
of their businesses. Managing human re-
sources (HR) in a strategic and intentional
way can ensure the success of new hires
and allow farm managers to retain the
workers they need for operational success.
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LETTERS POLICY
We appreciate hearing from our readers and en-
courage participation in
GrainsWest
via letters to the
editor. Please limit your submission to 250 words or less.
Submissions may be edited for clarity.
GrainsWest
will
also run letters online at
grainswest.com
.
When submitting, please include name, address and
phone number. Email your thoughts to:
or
#200, 6815 – 8 St. N.E. Calgary, AB T2E 7H7
The Canadian Agricultural Human Re-
source Council is currently spearheading
two research projects to better clarify and
identify farm labour issues so that we may
then implement meaningful supports for
the industry. Producers and agricultural
workers are urged to answer the call for
their participation in surveys and focus
groups to help us gather the most accurate
and up-to-date data for our research.
The Council has also developed many
tools and resources to better equip farm
managers to be successful in managing
the people side of their businesses. The
farm labour shortage has been identified
as one of the greatest business risks in
agriculture today. Therefore, investing in
effective and strategic human resource
management to find, support and keep
qualified workers is important to the long-
term health of any operation.
Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst, Executive Director
Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council
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Publication: Grainswest
Date Produced: January 2015
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