6 Ways to Recruit Talent in the Agriculture Industry

A major agriculture company recently complained to me that they had over 3000 jobs to fill in the Midwest and they could not find trained talent who were willing to take these jobs.

I know this might sound crazy if you are someone looking for a job or if you are in an industry where you are laying people off rather than having jobs to fill. However the media doesn't report on the jobs that are available they are more likely to report on the loss of jobs in America.

As a consultant and trainer in the agriculture industry (I grew up on a working farm so I have first hand knowledge of the mentality of agriculture people) I told the CEO on the phone that they had a PR problem. Interestingly about two weeks later there was news media coverage on CNN about jobs available in the agriculture industry.

There are a number of reasons why recruiting and retention is a challenge in the agriculture industry such as younger generations like Generation Y (those in their 20's) are shying away from labor jobs and are more attracted to technological fields and that Generation X (those in their 30's) do not want to be away from their families for long periods of time and thirdly that Zoomers (Baby boomers 50 and to about 28) are retiring.

But these reasons do not have to be seen as a negative when looking to recruit and retain specifically for the agriculture industry, rather there is an opportunity to focus and 'sell' the positives to each of the demographics so that we are providing custom lifestyle values that will entice talent to the industry.

Here are 6 ways to recruit in the agriculture industry:

#1- Build your recruitment campaigns around the values of each of the generations. For example driving a tractor today is very different than it used to be. Today's equipment is tricked out with the latest technology- users can access the web, use auto functions and have increased safety. This needs to be communicated to Generation Y's who can accept repetitive work tasks (like driving a tractor) if they are told about the positives. They can access Facebook or they can work mornings and afternoon and evenings free or some days they will be working 14 hours but they can work in a season and make as much money as they might make in a year at another job.

#2- Look at the communities and what they offer younger generations and families. Recently in Entrepreneur magazine (October 2011) there was an article about two Generation X agriculture employees who found that there was nothing for them to do outside of work in their small town, nor were their family activities that appealed to today's tech savvy kids. They set out to create weekly Wii and X Box championship gatherings and they set up a Web Cafe for brainstorming and sharing tech resources. An opportunity for an agriculture company is to find ways to add value and enhance the communities where they employ workers.

#3- Look for industries with similar values when recruiting- with many military workers returning home they are an ideal talent resource. Those who have worked in the military are typically disciplined, willing to work hard and are used to being away from family for periods of time.

#4- An obvious yet underused recruitment tool is referral incentives. Your existing talent pool is the perfect place to solicit for more workers that are exactly like them. Encourage your employees to use social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Linked In to reach out to their circles of influence to engage and invite their peers to join the agriculture industry.

#5- Use media more vigorously- You Tube is the 2nd highest search engine on the Internet- research shows that we are all drawn to video as a communication tool more than any other medium. Create modern, edgy and values focused video to tell your agriculture company story and to engage and invite talent to apply for jobs in your company. Video tape your happy workers of all ages and have them tell their story as to why they love the agriculture industry. Every one of your websites should have engaging video on your home page and on your recruitment pages.

#6- Once you have recruited you need to make sure you retain them. Most generation Y's will only stick around with any employer for a maximum of three years. Rather than see this as disloyal- see it as an opportunity to keep them for as long as you can. Positive on boarding strategies are crucial to increase retention as are recognition, rewards and good leadership. If companies are not focused on retention strategies then they will find themselves constantly recruiting because of high turnover.

It is an exciting time for the agriculture industry in 2011 and beyond- it's a great problem to have so many jobs available that other industries would love to have!

In order to recruit and retain for the agriculture industry we need to integrate what has worked in the past with new strategies that include technology, modifying hours and the way we work and matching what workers want with what your company can provide.

Cheryl is the President of Synthesis at Work Inc. and an internationally renowned keynote speaker. She provides practical tools and creative strategies for CEO's and their leaders to increase leadership skill that helps to recruit and retain top talent. Cheryl has worked in the agriculture industry for a number of years and grew up on a working farm in Saskatchewan Canada. http://www.cherylcran.com/

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Precision Agriculture With GIS - A New Approach To Farming

Precision farming offers farmers a new set of tools to help them visualize and manage their land, and to better understand their soil conditions. Precision farming uses GIS, which stands for Geographical Information Systems, to divide a field into small portions in order to look at the field in greater detail. Think of it as a magnifying glass for a field that allows you to fine tune farming practices which results in better crop yields and reduced waste and spending.

This information can be used to reduce fertilizer waste by providing precise information on what kind of nutrients are already in the soil, and what the ph of the soil area is.

This is accomplished by dividing the farm into small units, then analyzing the soil. If the soil is too alkaline or acidic in one area, it can lock the nutrients preventing the crops from absorbing them. With precision farming these areas can be treated to give the entire field a uniform ph level allowing for better crop management.

Farmers can also see what kind of nutrients are in the soil so that they don't waste money buying fertilizers that might already be in the soil. One area of a field may have a lot of nutrients, while another area may have very little. Precision farming will let you apply more precise amounts of fertilizer to your field reducing waste and increasing crop yields.

Water management is another area that farmers can benefit from because precision farming can show the areas where the water is draining to fast or slow. If the water flows to fast, it can take nutrients with it, if it flows to slow it could drown the roots reducing crop yield.

Here is a list of GIS map layers that can be used to help farmers determine their fields needs.

SOILMAPS: This is one of the most important maps available to a farmer for obvious reasons. This map shows you what kind of soil the field consists of, what the ph is, what nutrients are in the soil, and how well the soil drains.

DEMS: Short for Digital Elevation Models, this map is useful in showing where water flows, and how well it flows. This information can reveal areas that fertilizer and pesticide build up can be a problem. It can also show the farmer the areas that might be draining to fast removing needed fertilizers.

HYDROGRAPHY: This type of map deals with water issues. By revealing the flow and drain patterns of water, the farmer can better determine irrigation issues that might not be readily known by just looking at the field with the naked eye. This allows for more precise control of water resources resulting in reduced water usage.

Even though precision farming is still a fairly new field of research, it has a lot of exciting possibilities that the agriculture industry can greatly benefit from. A lot of farmers have already started using this technology and are experiencing positive results from the information GIS provides.

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