Each day of agronomy brings new challenges and issues. Working with animals, plants and soil, all combined with weather, makes a constantly changing environment. Any person involved in crop protection is facing these changing situations. New agronomists need to develop expertise in crop protection and it is not always easy. Each crop season represents a long cycle. There is no shortcut to building expertise – it takes time to face different situations. To help develop expertise among consultants in Québec, la Coordination des Services Conseils has put in place a team of mentors to guide agronomists willing to improve their knowledge.
Growers can be supported in their crop protection activities by various agronomists. Developing experience in crop protection can sometimes be puzzling. To help consultants develop their competencies in crop protection, a service of mentoring was established in 2017. Someone who needs to be accompanied is matched with a mentor. This is creating a sustainable relationship helping to build knowledge and competencies of the mentee. The service tracks the progress of each supported agronomist. The mentors have been identified for their competencies, knowledge and experience.
On my side, I am mentoring people interested in improving their competencies in crop protection. When starting with a new mentee, the first step is to identify what are his/her needs. Is it building knowledge about pests or pesticides? Is it developing skills about integrated pest management? Is it getting more confidence about dispensing advice about crop protection? Often, people are worried about their abilities. Simply having the possibility of talking and exchanging with someone else helps a lot. In the mentoring, it is important to identify with the mentee what are the tools easily available and how to use them. If nothing is available, I need to help develop what would be helpful as reminder. A calendar of scouting is a good example.
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