Recruiting for the farm you actually have
Over the last four years, I’ve had the opportunity to assist several farms with adding people to their teams. Throughout my working life, I’ve also been responsible for recruiting employees for businesses I’ve managed, whether directly or indirectly through recruiters, so I’ve been around the human resources block a few times.
Even with that experience, combined with studying recruitment and selection through an HR management program, I still don’t consider myself an expert. Recruitment is a constantly evolving landscape. Although there is certainly “science” we can apply to the process, sometimes it still comes down to timing and luck.
That said, there are things farmers can do to increase their odds of attracting and retaining the right people.
Recruitment for farms in Western Canada is interesting because although every farm is different, many farm employers are looking for a similar type of candidate. Most farm owners are also willing to “hire up” when the opportunity presents itself. For instance, even if you don’t currently need an experienced equipment operator with a Class 1 licence, if one comes along, you may be willing to pay more than you originally budgeted to capture the opportunity of bringing that person onto your farm. This may not seem unusual, but if you apply that same idea to another industry, it starts to paint a clearer picture of why farm recruitment is so competitive.
Imagine someone posted a job for a health care aide and a doctor applied. In most cases, that person would likely be turned down for being overqualified. But on farms, we often do the opposite. We see the opportunity and try to make room for that person, even if the role itself does not require that level of experience. Over time, this contributes to rising hourly wages for experienced farm labour while still leaving us with a large pool of willing but inexperienced candidates. In some cases, we have gotten to a place where we want to pay health care aide wages but expect everyone to perform like doctors. I think this is contributing to the farm labour challenge in Canada, and it is a challenge we know is not going away any time soon.
How did we get here?
The first reason, in my opinion, is that many farms have traditionally relied on help from family members and people in the local community.
Maybe it was someone who had been running combine for the last 10 years, or a neighbour who could jump in and help when needed. But as that workforce ages, many farms are now trying to replace experienced people and are finding themselves inundated with applicants who have little or no farm experience. When that résumé comes in, it might be unthinkable to bring that new person on because we believe our operation “needs” someone with 10-plus years of experience. In some cases, that may be true. But in other cases, we may need to take a harder look at what the role actually requires and what we are willing to train.
The second reason is that many farms have not traditionally prioritized formal HR practices. That does not mean they have not cared about their people. Many farm employers care deeply about the people who work with them. But there is a difference between caring about people and having intentional systems in place to recruit, train, manage and retain them.
At Backswath, we talk a lot about taking the time to work on your business instead of just in it. We talk about leverage models that allow the business leader to focus on strategy and work toward the vision, rather than being constantly pulled into the day-to-day. That only works if you have the right team, and building that team takes time.
That leads into the third issue — expectations. Some farms still expect people to work long hours for relatively low pay, simply for the love of farming. Passion matters. Many people are drawn to this industry because they love agriculture, equipment, animals, land or the lifestyle. But if you are asking someone to be available for 15-plus hours a day during the nicest months of the year, there needs to be an understanding that people are going to expect something in return. That “something” may be pay, but it may also be housing, flexibility in the off-season, opportunities to learn, a positive work environment, clear communication or simply being treated with respect.
The final piece that I think complicates recruitment is the instinct to tie new candidates to past bad experiences.
“I hired someone like that once, and he walked off the job in the middle of harvest.”
That kind of experience is frustrating, and it is understandable that it sticks with you. But the important question is: why did it happen? Was it a bad hire? Was the person not properly screened? Were expectations unclear? Was the work environment not what they expected? Was there something the farm could have done differently? Maybe, or maybe not. But we cannot paint every candidate with the same brush. I am not suggesting farmers throw their lived experience out the window. That experience matters. But it is most useful when it helps us better define what the right person looks like.
For example, maybe your farm is in a remote area, and the last time you hired someone from a more populated region it did not work out because they realized they needed their morning Tim’s coffee more than they expected. That is good information. It does not mean you should never interview someone from an urban area, but it does mean you may need to do a better job screening for lifestyle fit and explaining the realities of living and working in a remote community.
All these pieces point to one of the biggest opportunities I see in the agriculture industry: a greater willingness to actually build a team.
There is no shortage of people willing to work. I receive dozens of applications for many farm positions. But only a handful of farmers tell me they are willing to train someone who does not have a lot of experience, as long as they are the right fit. I understand that sometimes things change quickly on the farm, and you need someone who can jump in the combine and get down to work from day one. That is fair. But what are you doing after harvest to make sure you are not in that same situation again next year?
So, what is the solution? I don’t pretend to have it nailed down. As I said earlier, every farm is different. But I think a good place to start is by taking an honest look at yourself as an employer and at your operation. What are the reasons — besides a love of farming — that someone would want to work for you? What opportunities exist for an employee who stays? Whether you have one employee or fifteen, you need to build a solid retention plan if you want to get off the hamster wheel of having a new person on your farm every six months.
Along with considering the benefits of working for you, it is also worth looking at the challenges your farm faces. Are there ways to mitigate them? Are there things about the role, the location, the schedule, the communication style or the work environment that may make recruitment and retention harder?
Farm owners spend a lot of time screening the people who apply, but not nearly as much time “screening” themselves as farm employers. A highly qualified candidate recently told me that when he arrived at a farm to meet in person, the farmyard looked like a scrap yard. He declined the offer because, to him, the condition of the yard suggested the owner did not take a lot of pride in caring for the yard or equipment. That did not align with his values or the type of work environment he was looking for. I commended him for knowing what mattered to him, but I also know that if the farmer heard that feedback, he may have felt very differently. I mention that story because great candidates are looking for more than an hourly wage or simply the opportunity to work in an industry they care about.
If you are looking for a unicorn candidate, you may need to ask whether you have a unicorn opportunity to match.
Hopefully you understand that I am not telling you to go clean up your yard. I am suggesting you look in the mirror.
The same idea applies to the roles themselves. Another piece of advice I often share with farmers is to clearly define the roles you’re hiring for and then look for the right person to fill them. If you are not looking for someone to manage your farm, hiring an experienced farm manager simply because they are the most qualified candidate may not be a good fit for either of you in the long run. They may clash with existing managers or become disappointed when there is not a team for them to lead. For you, paying for one farm manager when you could have hired two equipment operators may pull you away from your budget and overall HR strategy.
Hiring can feel overwhelming, but good people are out there.
Keep your strategy at the forefront of your decision-making. Be honest about what your farm needs, what you are willing to train and what you can offer in return. And spend just as much time thinking about how you will keep a good person on your farm as you do trying to find them.
The farmers that will have the easiest time hiring in the future may not be the ones with the flashiest job ads, but they will be the ones who have created work environments where good people want to stay.
