Friday, August 10, 2012

Study business, farmers say



If you want to be a farmer, study business and marketing.

That’s the result of opinions Farm Credit Canada collected from about 2,000 farmers and agri-business people who are members of its Vision Panel.

They were asked in April to list the skills they believe necessary to be successful in agriculture.

They also identified an understanding of agriculture and technology.

"Given that one in eight jobs in Canada are in the agri-food industry, there are a lot of opportunities for young people," says Greg Stewart, FCC President and CEO.

"As the industry grows in complexity, so does the need for great business acumen.

“As Canada's leading agriculture lender, we know this very well at FCC and that's why we offer value-added learning programs that focus on business management."

The George Morris Centre released a report earlier this week urging Canadian governments to pay more attention to management skills and to spend less on propping up farm revenues via subsidies and supply management.