Crystal Mackay hosts The Ag Podcast
A new podcast is available for members of the Canadian ag sector looking to stay abreast of the important topics affecting the industry.
The Ag Podcast, which ag communications leader and founder and CEO of Loft32 Crystal Mackay hosts, aims to have frank conversations about the future of farming in Canada.
“We need to tackle big issues in a really down to earth way with people who genuinely know about the topics we’ll be covering,” she told Farms.com.
Those kinds of macro level discussions tend to be missing in agriculture.
That’s because the industry is chalked full of experts, that gaps occur in wider-ranging conversations.
“There’s so many experts in our industry,” Mackay said. “The gap we’re trying to fill is about the big picture of the food system and what’s affecting farmers, scientists, grocers and really anyone who eats.”
The first two episodes of the podcast are about farm succession plans.
This is important because of Statistics Canada and industry data related to succession plans and farm retirements.
The 2021 Census of Agriculture, for example, found that 12 per cent of Canadian farms have a succession plan.
And a report from RBC indicates about 40 per cent of Canadian farm operators plan to retire by 2033.
In the episodes, Mackay discusses the ins and outs of succession plans with Maggie Van Camp, a farmer and founder of Farmers’ Bridge, and Patti Durand, a certified family enterprise advisor.
Farmers are likely to have these conversations with one another, but hearing from experts provides valuable perspectives, Mackay says.
“I believe these discussions are happening in coffee shops,” she said. “But it’s time to give them a larger platform with insights from professionals.”
Another big topic in the sector is the labour shortage.
The Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council estimates more than 100,000 job vacancies in the industry by 2030.
Unfilled positions is something Mackay sees regularly.
“My partner is an egg farmer and I help him find employees,” she said. “It’s really difficult to find people who want to work on a farm. But it extends beyond that. There are challenges in restaurants and food processing. There’s always been a bottleneck in our food system and in some areas, it’s going from issue to crisis.”
Other podcast topics include food waste, and carbon farming.
New episodes will air Tuesdays during the fall on the podcast’s YouTube channel and on multiple streaming platforms