Farmers Finding Success in Recruiting Workers from Foreign Countries

Oct 25, 2021

A professional speaker and trainer with tWorks says farmers who have encountered challenges finding local sources of labor are finding success in recruiting workers from foreign countries. "50 shades of beige" will be among the topics discussed as part of Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2021 which will be held virtually via Zoom November 16 and 17.

Tina Varughese, a professional speaker and trainer with tWorks, says farmers are increasing relying on workers from foreign countries, with the top source countries being Mexico, the Philippines, the UK, Ireland and the Ukraine.

Clip-Tina Varughese-tWorks:

I think generationally there's a different face to who's owning those farms. It used to be family run farms that would be handed down to children. Some of the kids now are not necessarily interested in taking over those farms to keep them going and, because of growth, farms are starting to outsource labor to foreign workers.

I have also heard that sometimes it's difficult to find local labor to work in such difficult jobs and yet they find foreign workers to be here by choice, they want to be working, highly skilled and very easy to train in the industry, so those are all positives.

I think as well the industry has changed quite a bit in terms of technological advances in the industry. A lot of farmers are now using very high-tech pieces of equipment, so there's been a lot of change within the industry that is driving a lot of these factors.

Source : Farmscape

Video: Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.