Feds launch Agri-Food Immigration Pilot

Jul 12, 2019

The three-year project aims to fill labour gaps and provide permanent residency for ag workers

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

The federal government is taking steps to address labour needs in the ag industry.

Today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen announced the launch of a three-year Agri-Food Immigration Pilot project.

The program looks to attract butchers, food processing labourers, harvesting labourers, general ag workers, supervisors and workers with livestock experience.

The government will accept a maximum of 2,750 principal applicants plus family members each year of the pilot. And those families may use the project as an avenue to permanent Canadian residency.

“One of the ways to deal with (a labour shortage challenge) is to use immigration,” Minister Hussen said during the announcement at Maple Leaf Foods in Mississauga, Ont. “Helping (immigrants) integrate into their new communities is just as vital for them to stay in Canada.”

Potential candidates must meet certain criteria to be eligible for the program. The conditions include 12 months of full-time non-seasonal work in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and a Canadian Language Benchmark level 4 in English or French.

The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council documented the lack of labour in the ag industry in Industry Canada’s 2018 Agri-Food Economic Strategy Table.

Even with 45,600 temporary foreign workers, more than 26,000 ag industry jobs went unfilled in 2014, costing the industry $1.5 billion in revenues that year, the organization said in the report.

Having this new program to attract and retain workers will help the industry find the staff it needs, said Marie-France MacKinnon, vice-president of public affairs and communications with the Canadian Meat Council.

“There is nothing temporary about our need and our jobs,” she said during the announcement. “Butchers feed Canadians and they feed the world. This immigration pilot gives our members an ability to secure a workforce.”

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.