MANAGEMENT

It is imperative for all team members to feel safe and comfortable to be themselves within a workplace in order to allow for a positive work environment.

Labour is a major expense for many farms in Ontario. Finding and retaining employees continues to be a challenge for agriculture. Key aspects of building a strong labour force include recruiting qualified candidates, developing a strong training program, creating a safe and motivating workplace culture, and retaining your best employees.

Editor’s note: This article is based on a presentation made prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the consumer trends mentioned here are likely to carry through and will be just as important to the industry post-pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn many war-like comparisons, some of which are warranted, as many people have and continue to experience unprecedented changes to daily life.

•  Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) was ratified by Canada in March 2020 and came into force as of July 1. The Canadian dairy industry generally has a defensive interest relative to CUSMA, with great sensitivity to dairy market access concessions that pile on other recent trade agreements, along with important provisions impacting classified milk pricing and exports of skim milk powder and milk protein concentrate, and little practical ability to respond to access to the U.S. market provided under CUSMA.

As the world’s population grows, demand for animal products is expected to rise as well. Developing countries are projected to have the biggest growth in demand for animal-based proteins, as their incomes begin to rise and urbanization intensifies.