Benchmark Magazine Article Archive

Regardless of the organization’s size, whether a small farm or a multi-site corporation, employers have long been concerned about recruiting challenges in the competitive labor market.

Without a doubt, the swine industry plays a crucial role in global food production, providing a significant source of protein for millions of people worldwide. However, this vital sector is facing an increasingly pressing challenge: a severe shortage of workers.

As the industry continues to adapt to changing HR trends and challenges, retention remains a top priority for employers across the agriculture and food industries.

As human beings, one of our most basic needs is the ability to connect with each other. If we look back at the past 15 to 20 years, we can see that there has been a big vision goal to connect with people and communities across the globe.

After staggering high unemployment rates in 2020, it dropped in 2021. The vital global agricultural industry experienced strong hiring in 2021, with a 30% increase in jobs posted on AgCareers.com. Globally, job postings in the swine industry on AgCareers.com increased by 6% in the past year. Looking at jobs by country, US swine jobs remained consistent, while Canadian swine jobs increased.

For the past few years, the American pork industry has had to concern itself with: the Covid-19 pandemic and its corresponding supply chain, labour and health issues; and the ever-present Sword of Damocles hanging over everyone’s head that is African Swine Fever and the prevention of its entrance into North America, while also preparing for its unwanted arrival, nonetheless. And then there is California Proposition 12 - a new State of California law that bans the sale of pork for any hog born to a sow not raised according to the state’s production standards, specifically animal housing doctrine.