While pay will always remain an important factor in attracting new employees to the agriculture sector, other issues such as work flexibility, vacation time and sick days could make the difference in hiring and retaining high quality workers.

The Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council surveyed 140 organizations to learn more about employee compensation.
It found 44 percent of farms offer paid sick days, at an average of six per year.

Between 60 and 70 percent of grain and oilseed farms surveyed offered employees paid vacations, with the average in the 11 to 13 day range.

The survey found the highest average employee pay was on grain and oilseed farms, with managers are receiving a median wage of just under 40 dollars an hour and farm workers at 28 dollars an hour.

Farm managers on dairy farms were 26 dollars an hour with workers at 21 dollars an hour.

To put those numbers in perspective, construction workers were receiving 36 dollars an hour on average, with manufacturing at $33.50.

The report says while the Canadian job market is expected to slow in 2024, there remains a persistent labour shortage in the agriculture sector.

(Neil Billinger, CJWW)