Labour Shortage In Red-Meat Industry Expected To Worsen

Dec 22, 2016

A three-year study by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council suggests that the labour shortage in the beef and pork industries will worsen between now and 2025.

The study revealed that in 2014, the beef industry workforce was unable to fill 3,500 jobs due to a lack of domestic workers.

The pork industry was unable to fill 800 jobs.

By 2025, these industries are expected to see the labour gap widen significantly, with as many as 15,500 more jobs than the domestic workforce can fill.

The most significant factor in the growing labour shortage is the retirement of older workers. Over the next 10 years, nearly one in three Canadian beef workers and one in four Canadian pork workers are expected to retire.

Source : Portageonline

Video: WARNING! Rough Start To Breeding Season!!

WARNING! Sheep Breeding Season Begins With A Bang! Breeding season is officially underway at Ewetopia Farms, but it didn’t exactly start the way we planned!

This vlog begins with us sorting through our rams to find the perfect match for a customer’s breeding program. What should have been routine quickly turned dangerous when one of our more nervous rams panicked. In seconds, Arnie’s knee was injured, and then I was slammed hard onto the concrete floor — both of us taken down by one ram!

Thankfully, it was just bruises, but it’s a reminder of how unpredictable and powerful mature rams can be. Once we recovered, it was time to get back to the real work — the start of breeding season.

We sorted the ewes into four breeding groups (two Suffolk and two Dorset), checking parentage as they ran through the chute, deworming those that needed it, and setting aside thinner ewes for session two of breeding season in a month’s time.This staggered approach keeps lambing organized and prevents overcrowding in the barns.

From rogue rams to the excitement of new breeding groups, this episode is full of action. Stay tuned for the next vlog, where we’ll share how we chose the rams for each group!