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Asparagus harvest is intense for six to eight weeks each season. The role of Amanda Doughty, human resources (HR) manager is to support the harvest and labour manager in his oversight of 200-plus workers who are cutting quality spears at Sandy Shore Farms Ltd., Port Burwell, Ontario. It’s the first of three crops that include bell peppers and onions. Her HR assistant, Pancho Chanquin, R, is a Guatemalan who is valued for his leadership qualities and ability to speak Spanish to field workers such as José Francisco Perez. Photos by Jeff Tribe.
KAREN DAVIDSON Ever pick up an asparagus harvesting knife? Its razorsharp blade is best left in the dexterous hands of a pro like José Francisco Perez. He’s skilled at quickly spotting prime asparagus, then deftly slicing the spear free from its rhizome. His movements are spare, as he inches down the row on his customized, gasoline-powered harvesting cart. Perez is a highly valued temporary foreign worker (TFW) at Sandy Shore Farms Ltd., Port Burwell, Ontario. He’s worked at the farm for four years now, returning to his home in San Luis Potosi, Mexico every winter. A big part of what makes him feel at home here in Canada is the ability to chat in his Spanish mother tongue with Sandy Shore’s assistant human resources manager, Pancho Chanquin. Originally from Guatemala, Chanquin offers another unique story. He came to the farm under the AgStream program in 2022 and then successfully applied for
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permanent residency. Along with his Canadian-born wife, he now lives in a rental property, a short commute from the farm. Chanquin is often found in the field, deep into conversation with Jamaican Curtis Dixon, Sandy Shore’s harvest and labour manager. Dixon originally came to Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) then switched to the AgStream program. With the support of Sandy Shore Farms, he gained permanent residency. “Curtis plays a huge role in our operation,” says Amanda Doughty, human resources manager, surveying a work crew at full throttle. “He has up to 146 people reporting to him in the field.” Doughty, formerly a Best Buy store manager, is now pursuing her dream in human resources. “For the last three years, I’ve been responsible for ensuring that labour needs are met to support the operational and strategic goals of Sandy Shore Farms,” she says. “At first, I was looking after the process of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs), but that role
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has expanded to not only submitting the LMIAs but truly understanding the AgStream and SAWP. I make sure that we have the right people at the right time in the right roles.” She supports Curtis Dixon in his training and orientation role. He has created cue cards showing the five growth stages of asparagus. For a new cutter, it’s a daunting task to identify the differences, especially as the season progresses. But after visual training, it’s obvious which seedy heads should stay in the field. “Quality is very important to us,” says Doughty. “Real productivity is picking only what can be marketable.” The themes of quality and quantity are important to the farm’s success. “We have focussed on continuous improvement,” says Doughty. “People need to know their goal. We measure labour costs per pound of produce, graded, packed, and marketed.”
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