29 ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER OCTOBER 2024 Fundamentally, establishing the return on investment for any piece of technology is critical and unique for each business. over the next decade include data scientists and software engineers. The skills most in demand for the future agriculture workforce are product design, digital production, and digital literacy, while the food and beverage manufacturing industry will be looking for skills such as digital literacy, problem-solving, evaluation, systems analysis, and monitoring.” For Peter Sykanda, farm policy advisor with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the evolution in job type will likely run into the perennial problem of attracting and retaining employees. Even if automation means the number of labourers required is lower – a scenario that is not guaranteed – getting qualified people to live and work in rural areas is likely to be an issue for some businesses. Another perennial problem, the availability of high-speed broadband internet in rural areas, will confound the adoption of new technologies. While Sykanda says Agriculture Agri-Food Canada is “frantic” in encouraging tech adoption, particularly as the government sees it as a way of improving efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there does not appear to be a significant body of policy directly supporting tech adoption. “They see, as we do, high-speed internet and tech adoption does come with an efficiency often in a fuel or energy use, or fertilizer use area… We need to help governments recognize linkages between tech adoption and desires for emission reduction and help our farmers continue to be competitive in a global marketplace,” says Sykanda, adding he considers the Conference Board’s overarching conclusions to be ambitious. He also reiterates there will always be a need for “that discerning mind and gentle touch of a human” in agricultural production.• For 115 years, P&H has served Canadian farmers with diverse operations unique to their needs. With the most terminals on Ontario waterways, P&H offers deliveries, grain merchandising, crop inputs, feed mills, and more to support you. Plus, the new P&H Central online portal and app makes it easier than ever to connect to us and your business. P&H is built to keep Ontario agriculture Productive & Healthy. FIND YOUR LOCAL EXPERTS AT PARRISHANDHEIMBECKER-AG.COM PROGRESS ON ONTARIO’S HORIZON 14476_PHL_2024_East_OntarioGrain_AD_4-687x6-062_V3.indd 1 2024-08-28 9:10 AM
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