NORTH BATTLEFORD, Sask. — Farmers are willing to pay short-term workers more money this year, say officials in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
For the first time wages are closer to the $8-$10 range common in Alberta.
Late summer is the usual time for a run on farm workers but Larry Wade, manager of the North Battleford branch of the federal agency, Agricultural Employment Services, said there is a bigger labor shortage this year.
“Lots of employees are going to the oil patch to work.”
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Even with the recent trend to pay workers more, farmers can’t compete with the oil industry.
Only temporary
Another problem is the shortness of the season. Harvest work is only six to eight weeks; to qualify for unemployment insurance a person must work 14 to 18 weeks.
Wade said the most important issues for farm workers are not wages but having accommodations on the farm and the length of the job.
At the Brandon, Man. office of the job agency, more harvest work is being posted earlier compared to recent years, said manager Ken Young.
Farmers are more willing to pay higher wages to their workers — up a dollar to a range of $7.50 to $8.50 an hour. They’re paying that rate because it’s harder to find trained workers and there’s also more optimism among farmers about their own income, Young said.
“Since 1991 there’s been a trend away from employing someone from spring through freeze-up. Farmers hire in the spring, then lay off, then hire for the fall.”
Jobs are also coming in a pile for the Lethbridge branch of Agricultural Employment Services, said assistant manager Pat Black. There is a mixture of harvest work plus a need for steady, year-round work in the feedlot industry. Wages haven’t changed much with harvest help receiving $8-$10 an hour.
All three said farmers want to hire workers with experience.
“They want to put someone on a piece of equipment and feel comfy with giving them only one or two hours of training,” said Young.
Experience important
Those who get hired generally don’t have agriculture college training, but have farm backgrounds and farm work experience.
“Employers rely on on-the-job training and what past employers say about the workers.”
Wade said there are fewer people around with farm experience and skills who are available for short-term work.
“That core of people is getting smaller as are families. … Kids are going to university to get more lucrative jobs than farming.”
Another trend Wade has spotted is custom work for silage, corral cleaning and spraying. The latter is especially crucial — “we just can’t find anyone with that experience.”
With more pulse crops grown that require spraying for desiccation to harvest, and with chemical fallow replacing summerfallow, farmers are not hiring people but are going to bulk dealers asking them to supply people for spraying operations.
In Alberta, Black said she hasn’t noticed the demand for spraying certification, but almost all jobs posted want a Class 3 driver’s licence to handle tandem trucks.
