There’s a show on television, Dirty Jobs, in which host Mike Rowe learns about the various unsavoury tasks by which people make a living.
Rowe has been shown digging for bloodworms, taking the rectal temperature of Arctic geese, mucking out a barbecue smoker, fumigating a penguin cage at the zoo and exploring the production of charcoal briquettes.
It all looks a lot dirtier than the average job on a farm or ranch. Although those settings do involve a few dirty jobs, there are a lot fewer than there used to be due to technological and mechanical advances.
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Yet farm labour is hard to find and hard to keep.
Contributing factors to this shortage include the unique demands of farm work, its reputation for offering lower pay compared to many other jobs, and labour competition with the superheated oil and gas sector.
But one must also wonder whether the reputation of farms and ranches as workplaces has failed to evolve along with the industry, at least in the eyes of the general public.
Does the new generation of prospective employees suffer from a dated view of this industry? A note to those so afflicted:
It is no longer necessary to shovel entire truckloads of grain. There are augers, truck hoists, grain vacuums and bin sweeps.
It is no longer necessary to hand-carry bales. A range of mechanical hay and forage handling equipment does the heavy lifting.
Dare we mention the merits of advances like global positioning systems, autosteer and satellite auction marketing? Farming isn’t a dirty job anymore.
Agreed, the above notes are unfair to the intelligence of this next generation of employees, who are a savvy bunch.
They’re also a group keen to balance careers with quality of life. That’s where farm life can really earn points, and maybe that’s where more emphasis should be placed when recruiting.
Farm and ranch employers have to sell the benefits if they want to attract people. And indeed their help wanted ads show recognition of this: full-time employment, negotiable wages, accommodations and job opportunities for spouses are all part of the employment packages listed.
What could be added to that?
Opportunities to connect with nature and the growing of food.
Opportunities to work with animals.
Opportunities for independent work and growth.
Opportunities to work in a field of constant study, where the rewards can be more than monetary.
Ready to sign up?
