b"Changing TimesStaying adaptable is paramount in keeping the operation running, including when it comes to employees. The demands for farm employees have undergone significant changes over the years. Technological progress has led to a decrease in the workforce required to run certain pieces of equipment or complete various tasks.When we started out, we grew 250 acres (of potatoes), and we did our harvest with about the same number of staff as we do now in 1,750 acres. I would say that the number of staff has been equal, or maybe a slight increase, but that's drastically been reduced if you look at it on a per acre basis, Camps explains. He adds that equipment sizes have become larger which has led to this reduction in the number of employees needed to do tasks.Farms across Canada are shifting to include more technology. The RBC report noted in 2020, over 50 per cent of farms who were investing in new technology noted a decrease in operating costs. While automation reduces the need for on-farm labour it also creates new jobs for highly skilled workers, RBC said.In the RBC report, it offered potential solutions to address the skilled labour shortage. It said through short, medium, and long-term policies, Canada can establish the digitally savvy agricultural workforce needed. To offset the short-term skills crisis, RBC said Canada will need to accept 30,000 permanent immigrants over the Employees at Farm Boys Inc. in Arlington, P.E.I. work on equipment in the farmyard.PHOTO: ASHLEY ROBINSON next decade to establish their own farms and greenhouses or take over existing ones.INNOVATIVEECONOMICALRELIABLEENJOYABLE12SPUDSMART.COMFall 2023"