Launching
Careers in Ag from the Launch Pad at Canada’s Farm Show The official launch of Careers in Ag at Canada’s Farm Show on Thursday, June 22, included a panel discussion with five Careers in Ag Ambassadors and AMC President Donna Boyd. The panel geared their discussion towards students about to embark on their careers and what the ag industry as a whole needs to do to ensure that word gets out that there are a multitude of fulfilling and exciting jobs available in the ag industry. A central theme that ran through the discussion was that the industry’s doors are open to everyone and that a background in ag is not a prerequisite to enter a career in the ag industry.
Ag is not just farming Donna Boyd enthusiastically struck off the conversation by saying that there is no greater opportunity right now for anyone than in agriculture. Agricultural manufacturers, and the agriculture industry in general, is continuously thirsty for talent. The tremendous need for talent goes back through the 53-year lifespan of AMC, and Boyd felt it was time for someone to take the lead for ag manufacturers and the ag industry as a whole. The need for talent was the impetus of the Careers in Ag initiative, which unites industry, academia and government in a push to show opportunities to prospective career candidates. Although she has no deep connection to farming, and most of her career prior to her tenure at AMC 8
Implement Success | Fall/Winter 2023
was in not-for-profit leadership, she has found her place championing agriculture, specifically agricultural manufacturing. Boyd says one of the key messages of the Careers in Ag initiative is “to ensure that we present all the opportunities available in agriculture. Ag is not just farming.”
Be open to learning Unlike Boyd, Chrisa Kastning, CEO of Duckfoot Parts, has a background in agriculture, having grown up on a small farm in Saskatchewan. Kastning left the farm to study social work at university and then found herself back on a farm when she joined her husband on his farm. Tackling working farm issues around combine losses during lentil harvest led the couple to start down the path to farm innovation and the founding of Duckfoot Parts. The company now sells to five countries and continues to expand and grow. Kastning offers advice to anyone seeking a career in agriculture. “Having a peer group and gaining advice from others is very important. Be open to learning and adaptable. Soak up any knowledge available.” Other panel members echoed her sage advice. Even if you’re not sure right off the bat that you’ve found your niche, keep learning, keep your eyes open, and opportunities will present themselves.
Show ambition, and you’ll get there Glenna Stewart, Vice President of Process Improvement for Degelman Industries, also grew up on a farm. As an aspiring musician, she realized she would need a “job to pay the bills, “ which led her to study engineering. Her familiarity with farm equipment and her ability to envision design led her on a slightly different career path than expected. Wanting to make sure her designs could actually be made, she went into machine shop, which led to starting her ag career with Hi-Tech Profiles. Working there, she got to meet many companies and discover the exciting products they were producing. The networking she did led her to a technical sales position with Degelman Industries, leading her to a production job – process improvement, IT and more. About the slightly circuitous path that led her to a fulfilling career, Stewart advises career-minded individuals to “Show up. Show that you want to excel. Watch what’s happening. Volunteer to help with whatever needs to be done and learn from it. Show ambition, and you’ll get there.”
Ag is technology Sales Specialist for Raven Industries, Chris Morson’s path to a career in ag may be even more circuitous than Stewart’s. Although there was farming in his family background, Morson says his roots are more oil patch than farm. He studied hotel and restaurant www.a-m-c.ca
