The New Generation of Agriculture Professionals Leading the Industry into the Future
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A young and diverse workforce is bringing new perspectives and disciplines to the agriculture industry.
The agriculture industry is undergoing a healthy transition. A young workforce is bringing a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and disciplines to the industry. This group, which includes many university-educated women, is increasingly interested in where their food comes from, how the market works, and how they can be part of the solution when it comes to tackling issues such as climate change, food security and sustainability.
I’m an adjunct professor in agribusiness management and food policy at the University of British Columbia, and these issues are the entry points for many students. But they soon find their minds opened to the vastness of the industry and the food sector’s impact on the world. It’s also worth noting that many of these young entrants are not primarily motivated by money; it's more about having a job that’s fulfilling and the feeling of making a positive impact.
The challenge for operators is to determine the best way to work with this new generation of agriculture professionals to help their operations grow well into the future.
Beyond the usual suspects
It starts with a pivot in the perspective of who’s an agricultural worker and where they come from. Just because someone wasn’t raised on a farm doesn't mean that they don't value the work as much as a fifth-generation farmer. And in a tight labor market like the one we’re in now, finding people who are passionate about the industry is crucial. That could mean looking for applicants outside the mold of the usual suspects.
Traditionally, men have been the predominant hired labour force on farms, from feeding and milking cows to doing fieldwork. Now, we’re seeing women filling many of these positions. We’re also seeing more women and international professionals with varied backgrounds applying their expertise to the business side of agriculture.
Agriculture touches on many areas, including technology, ecology, supply chain management, marketing, risk management and international trade. The new generation of agriculture professionals are entering the industry with backgrounds in these disciplines. Also, universities worldwide are seeing more interest in agricultural programs. Establishing direct links between operators and universities can be a way to attract fresh talent with diverse perspectives.
The value in diversity
The agriculture industry is largely driven by multigenerational, family-owned businesses, often handed down from fathers to sons. There’s a certain legacy associated with running a farm. So, it may be out of an owner’s comfort zone to consider bringing in a diverse group of workers into its traditional operation. Change requires being open and fully committed to see it through to the end. That means operators need to resist the temptation of trying to assimilate new talent into their old ways of doing things. Let the new breed influence change, for the sake of your farm’s growth and for their own job satisfaction. With today’s worker shortage, good talent has options, so it’s important to help them feel like they’re making a difference.
Fortunately, we’re finding that operators are starting to recognize the value of diversity and they’re finding different ways to recruit that talent. They’re recognizing the value in fresh thinking. We’re seeing larger companies looking for CFOs who think outside the box when it comes to areas like alternative capital structures. It could mean hiring an operations manager who can make a candid assessment about your capacity. If you need to add labor but you’re having trouble finding milkers, can you use robotic milking systems to help fill that gap? Or are there other changes that can be made that the operator hasn’t thought of?
There is so much technology being developed—including smart irrigation systems, soil data monitoring, automated farm machinery and tools to analyze all the data—that farmers will need to understand and utilize. The next generation of farm professionals can bring in a new perspective to help maximize the effectiveness of these tools.
It’s essential that operators of any size assess their operation to find out what's going well, what they can change, and how they can operate more efficiently. That could mean hiring a master’s student for a few months to conduct an assessment to determine where you can be more efficient, including the use of technology like robotic milking systems.
And new ideas don’t just come from within your operation. In some parts of British Columbia, we’ve seen operators observing peers that have committed to changing their approach, whether it’s adopting new technology or adding staff from non-traditional backgrounds. These operators learn from them and determine how they could apply these changes to their operations.
Agriculture is a dynamic industry, one that needs to be adaptable to change. And as the industry moves forward, operators need to constantly assess their businesses to see if there are opportunities to help them meet their growth targets and strategic goals faster and more efficiently. Part of that assessment includes who you need to hire to stimulate that change. More and more, it’s a young, more diverse workforce that can help operators lead the charge.
Karen Taylor, PhD, MBA, P.Ag.
Director of Corporate Finance, Agriculture and Agribusiness, BMO Financial Group
A young and diverse workforce is bringing new perspectives and disciplines to the agriculture industry.
The agriculture industry is undergoing a healthy transition. A young workforce is bringing a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and disciplines to the industry. This group, which includes many university-educated women, is increasingly interested in where their food comes from, how the market works, and how they can be part of the solution when it comes to tackling issues such as climate change, food security and sustainability.
I’m an adjunct professor in agribusiness management and food policy at the University of British Columbia, and these issues are the entry points for many students. But they soon find their minds opened to the vastness of the industry and the food sector’s impact on the world. It’s also worth noting that many of these young entrants are not primarily motivated by money; it's more about having a job that’s fulfilling and the feeling of making a positive impact.
The challenge for operators is to determine the best way to work with this new generation of agriculture professionals to help their operations grow well into the future.
Beyond the usual suspects
It starts with a pivot in the perspective of who’s an agricultural worker and where they come from. Just because someone wasn’t raised on a farm doesn't mean that they don't value the work as much as a fifth-generation farmer. And in a tight labor market like the one we’re in now, finding people who are passionate about the industry is crucial. That could mean looking for applicants outside the mold of the usual suspects.
Traditionally, men have been the predominant hired labour force on farms, from feeding and milking cows to doing fieldwork. Now, we’re seeing women filling many of these positions. We’re also seeing more women and international professionals with varied backgrounds applying their expertise to the business side of agriculture.
Agriculture touches on many areas, including technology, ecology, supply chain management, marketing, risk management and international trade. The new generation of agriculture professionals are entering the industry with backgrounds in these disciplines. Also, universities worldwide are seeing more interest in agricultural programs. Establishing direct links between operators and universities can be a way to attract fresh talent with diverse perspectives.
The value in diversity
The agriculture industry is largely driven by multigenerational, family-owned businesses, often handed down from fathers to sons. There’s a certain legacy associated with running a farm. So, it may be out of an owner’s comfort zone to consider bringing in a diverse group of workers into its traditional operation. Change requires being open and fully committed to see it through to the end. That means operators need to resist the temptation of trying to assimilate new talent into their old ways of doing things. Let the new breed influence change, for the sake of your farm’s growth and for their own job satisfaction. With today’s worker shortage, good talent has options, so it’s important to help them feel like they’re making a difference.
Fortunately, we’re finding that operators are starting to recognize the value of diversity and they’re finding different ways to recruit that talent. They’re recognizing the value in fresh thinking. We’re seeing larger companies looking for CFOs who think outside the box when it comes to areas like alternative capital structures. It could mean hiring an operations manager who can make a candid assessment about your capacity. If you need to add labor but you’re having trouble finding milkers, can you use robotic milking systems to help fill that gap? Or are there other changes that can be made that the operator hasn’t thought of?
There is so much technology being developed—including smart irrigation systems, soil data monitoring, automated farm machinery and tools to analyze all the data—that farmers will need to understand and utilize. The next generation of farm professionals can bring in a new perspective to help maximize the effectiveness of these tools.
It’s essential that operators of any size assess their operation to find out what's going well, what they can change, and how they can operate more efficiently. That could mean hiring a master’s student for a few months to conduct an assessment to determine where you can be more efficient, including the use of technology like robotic milking systems.
And new ideas don’t just come from within your operation. In some parts of British Columbia, we’ve seen operators observing peers that have committed to changing their approach, whether it’s adopting new technology or adding staff from non-traditional backgrounds. These operators learn from them and determine how they could apply these changes to their operations.
Agriculture is a dynamic industry, one that needs to be adaptable to change. And as the industry moves forward, operators need to constantly assess their businesses to see if there are opportunities to help them meet their growth targets and strategic goals faster and more efficiently. Part of that assessment includes who you need to hire to stimulate that change. More and more, it’s a young, more diverse workforce that can help operators lead the charge.
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