International Rural Exchange promotes agriculture at home and abroad

Jun 13, 2023

The heart of the International Rural Exchange (IRE) has always been agriculture and facilitating relationships.

Farmers started it as a solution to find workers for their fields in 1985, and it has turned into an act of fostering international relations.

Executive director Anita Warriner started with the IRE as a host, welcoming young adults from all over the world to her and her husband’s farm. It wasn’t until 2009 that she took over in the running of the IRE, moving it to its current location in Alameda.

“It’s all about connection with the host and bringing people into Canadian culture, bringing them to community events. If people use them as cheap labour it doesn’t work,” Warriner shared. “This develops good and close relationships, if the host can be patient with the English and training, it’s incredibly enriching.”

At the IRE there are two halves of the same coin, inbound and outbound. For inbound, over 200 young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 come into Canada on a work permit and are hosted on a farm.

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Video: Syngenta Ag Stories - Reanna Hagel, Channel Marketing Manager

Growing up on a cow-calf operation and small feedlot near Lumby, BC, Reanna learned agriculture the hands-on way with her sister on the family farm. Today, as Channel Marketing Manager for Syngenta Canada, what Reanna loves most about her work is simple: the customer is always at the centre. Whether that's a grower or a channel partner, she understands them on a personal level - because she's the daughter of one. But for Reanna, supporting ag doesn't stop at her job. She volunteers with local 4-H clubs, lends a hand to her farming neighbours, and is raising her own kids to understand and respect the land. Her advice to the next generation? "It's an amazing time to be in the industry - it's going to look completely different in 20 years. To be part of the evolution is very exciting."