The Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council released a report on a recent survey they held which looked at labour conditions in agriculture.
The survey included 609 employees from a total of 140 different agricultural organizations, looking across different levels of responsibility.
The survey found that across all roles, the weighted average and median hourly rate increased with each level of increased role responsibility.
The CAHRC provided the following info:
"In comparing industry/ commodities, the weighted average for the farm manager role ranged from $29.56 to $37.95 and the median ranged from $30.00 to $39.90. Grain & oilseed paid the highest weighted average and median for farm managers, followed by finfish."
"Dairy paid the lowest farm manager wage across all industries by an estimated $4.00 an hour. Farm supervisor pay ranged from $20.25 to $31.00 median and $21.32 to $31.20 for the weighted average. The highest paying commodity group was grain & oilseed; the lowest was dairy."
"Farm worker pay ranged from $18.00 to $28.00 median and $18.72 to $27.19 for the weighted average. Apiculture paid the lowest hourly rate ($18.00 median) for farm workers, while grain & oilseed paid the highest ($28.00 median). Farm labourer roles were paid the least and consistently ranged from $16.50 to $21.67 median and $16.60 to $21.50 for all the industries."
"Apiculture paid the lowest hourly rate ($16.50 median) for farm labourers, while grain & oilseed paid the highest ($21.67 median). Specialized roles hourly rates were $25.00 median and $26.75 weighted average, and ranged from $22.00 in the 25th percentile to $30.00 in the 75th percentile."
"For finfish farming, Manager positions ranked highest in the 75th percentile wage earnings and closely followed in all other categories, second only to grain & oilseed."
The survey also looked at non-monetary compensation by sector, which included healthcare, dental care, vision care, training, and housing assistance.
Summing up their findings, the CAHRC recommended that people take a look at comparing compensation benchmarks against a producer's current wages in order to ensure pay is competitive in the marketplace.
As well, enhancing total rewards should be a goal for agricultural producers to consider so they can elevate their employee offerings.
"Rethinking the standard approaches of how employees are compensated and supported through benefits can serve to improve the current agriculture labour market shortages. Employees who are properly rewarded by employers who can provide the needed resources create a codependent solution to the increasing employment gap problem."