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Labour Market Information on Farms with Annual Revenues under $100,000

Project Dates: October 2009 – October 2011

In 2008, the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council collected labour market information related to the recruitment and retention of agriculture workers by farms with annual revenues of more than $100,000. Analysis of this data revealed that operations expected to employ an additional 50,000 non-seasonal and 38,000 seasonal workers by 2013—with machinery operators and mechanics, supervisors and technical specialists, and general farm workers in highest demand. The study also provided valuable insight as to why primary agriculture operations have difficulties recruiting and retaining labour, and industry-recommended solutions.

Gathering and analyzing information from larger farms established valuable baseline data on primary agriculture’s human resource challenges. But it was only the first step. The Council is now collecting information from smaller operations with annual revenues under $100,000. These farms number in the thousands and represent more than 65% of Canada’s agriculture operations. Data about recruitment and retention issues and skills required to maintain these farms will be gathered through consultations, surveys and a one-day workshop. The results will be compared to the information gathered in the initial labour market information study.

Project Elements

The Labour Market Information on Farms with Receipts under $100K project will:

• identify producer profiles and key human resource challenges through consultation with commodity groups and agriculture associations;
• engage farmers on smaller operations to validate consultation findings;
• draft a report on the survey results and consultation findings;
• consult stakeholders and other partners on the draft report and recommend ideas to address identified challenges;
• produce a comprehensive final report on the findings and recommended solutions, including comparative analysis with information gathered from larger farms; and
• conduct various activities to disseminate the final report.

Expected Results

This project will produce a profile of agriculture producers on smaller farms and their human resource needs. This information will increase Canada’s understanding of agriculture operations with annual revenues under $100,000 and augment the baseline data collected on larger operations. It will also help the Council and its partners to develop a better way to collect, survey, and track future/ongoing agriculture employment needs in Canada.