Home | Contact

Farmsitters

The Home Of Farmsitters - A New Yet Simple Concept...

This is a "One of a kind" service for Canada. It is free to the landowners who need help and it is free to sign up to help someone by becoming one of our network of people willing to help the rural community.

There are countless landowners in the Canadian Western Provinces who need help, and there are people out there willing to help. The problem is, there has been no formal way to link them up. Until now.

AgriConnect is establishing a database of capable, qualified and available Farmsitters, started in Alberta in the fall of 2007, now moving to Saskatchewan in 2008 and the other western provinces by the end of 2009. From this one source, landowners will be able to find a qualified sitter who:

Has the skills to do the work required
Has the availability to do the work
Is in the general location of the farm

Farmers/acreage owners can use this service for full time farmhands, vacation coverage, additional help during peak periods throughout the year, or coverage during illness or injury. It can be for any type of service such as doing chores for a weekend, helping with harvest, seeding or fencing. It could even be someone to check your house and farm while the owners are away on an extended vacation to feed the pets and water the flowers.

Did you know most insurance policies require that your residence be checked every couple of days if you are away?

Users of this service will recognize that the farming lifestyle does not mean continuous sacrifice. With the relationship built with the Farmsitter, options for vacation and REST are now available, which in turn makes the profession far more appealing.

This new service provides an opportunity to the semi-retired and retired farmers who do not want to continue a full-time farming operation, but have that desire to stay involved in the industry and keep active in the profession they have known and loved for a lifetime. It also gives that opportunity to the baby boomer who left the farm as a young adult and wants to get back to his roots from time to time. They can't spend the whole year on the golf course, can they? Other farmers, women, Ag-students, they are all resources that are not being utilized. Sign up if you have some time to help a neighbour just down the road.

Are you a student who would like to do a summer exchange within Canada, give us a call and we will see if we can find a match.

As a farmer who is hiring a student you may be eligible to get help from the government to cover some of the cost to hire this person? Go to www.cahrc-ccrha.ca/CareerFocus.html for more information.

The Farmsitters idea itself is not new; Farmsitters - Australia has been in operation since about 2003. According to our research, there is nothing like it operating in Canada. Until now.

You do not need a computer to use this service. A phone or a fax will do. Just contact us, and we can fax or mail you the forms to be a Farmsitter or to request a Farmsitter.

So come on, sign up to be a Farmsitter today! It's free and you'll be helping a neighbour in need. It's also free for the farmers to use this service. There is no obligation that you must be available. If you are and you can work out the terms with the farmer, why not. It is the best part time retirement job out there. you pick when, where and how often you work and you decide what you will and won't do.

If you have some available time, click on the "Become a Farmsitter" tab and fill out the form completely. It only takes about 10 minutes and there is no obligation that you must be available. Your information is held confidential and is not shared with any other sources.

Farmers that are in need of this help can fill out the form to"Request a Farmsitter" and we will try and find you that help. Farms must carry the insurance to cover off workers on their farms. It is up to you and the Farmsitter to negotiate the terms.

We are just getting started so the data base is pretty sparse right now but the word is spreading and Farmsitter applications are coming in daily. So if we don't have a match for you today, the right person might sign up tomorrow.

Tell your neighbours and friends about this new service. Also tell the business and industry that you support, we need everyone to get behind this initiative. The growth of this service will be directionally proportional to the amount of support we get.