Chelsea Gray is the manager of the Farm Credit Canada (FCC) Smart Farm Network. As a self-proclaimed city girl from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Chelsea found her way into the agriculture sector through FCC, which drew her in with a solid reputation and strong corporate culture. She has held many roles at FCC over the past 14 years, and shares here the many exciting things that keep her in agriculture.
Describe your job or product in one or two sentences.
I manage FCC’s strategic partnerships with smart farms in Canada. I work closely with partners, including EMILI’s Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert, to maximize the opportunities for testing and validation of innovative solutions on the farm, supporting innovation adoption and driving impact across the broader agriculture ecosystem.
What was your dream job when you were a kid?
I had a few dream jobs growing up. When I was quite young I wanted to be a waitress on roller skates, then a speech pathologist. As I got older, I decided to start my career how my mom started hers, in sales.
What brought you to your current role?
My current role was the brainchild of my former leader, Fred Wall who had a vision for FCC to support farmer-led innovation through strategic partnerships with smart farms. I was hired to build and foster strong relationships with external partners and help build out the FCC Smart Farm network.
How does digital agriculture or agtech play a role in your current job?
With my role, I have the privilege of meeting with entrepreneurs, learning about their products and connecting them to different smart farms in Canada that may be a fit for trials and demonstrations of their technologies. It’s incredibly interesting to learn about all the new technologies being developed to help producers continue to do what they love, more efficiently. Being a city girl, some days at work feel like I’m drinking from a firehose, but I am 100 per cent here for it! Working with smart farms has given me the amazing opportunity to learn so much about agriculture, and I am loving it. I truly feel that I have one of the coolest jobs out there.
What advice would you give someone considering a career in digital agriculture?
Go for it! At risk of sounding cliché, I must say that working in the industry that feeds the world is both inspiring and rewarding. The agriculture industry is constantly evolving in order to meet the many challenges farmers face which makes it exciting and dynamic. There are so many different career opportunities in digital agriculture. From where I sit, there are roles for people from all different educational backgrounds in digital agriculture.
What’s your favourite part about working in digital agriculture and agri-food?
I would have to say, hands down it’s the people. They are awesome! I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many people in this role, of all different ages and backgrounds. No matter who I meet and what they do in this industry – farmers, agronomists, investors, entrepreneurs and more – they are humble and generous with their knowledge. There is no looking down on those who don’t know agriculture well. If you’re curious and eager to learn, folks in ag are willing to share, teach and show you the way!
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