Past Future 40 recipient Ben Voss says its OK for people in Saskatchewan to be proud of their achievements

Agriculture has taken Ben Voss all over the world. 

From his family farm near Spiritwood, Sask., to industrial farms in the American Midwest and even isolated farming communities in rural Australia, Voss has seen how agriculture can bring communities together and push technology to new heights.

He is the director of sales with Raven Industries, a company that provides technology to farm machinery with a focus on automation. He and his family lived in Saskatoon for 27 years before moving to Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 2021 for work. 

Voss volunteered on several organizational boards, including Stars Ambulance, and mentored people in the agricultural sector. His community work was recognized in 2013 when he received a CBC Saskatchewan Future 40 award. 

Voss was in Saskatoon for work in early October and reflected on his career in agriculture. He also spoke about why it's fine for people in Saskatchewan to be proud of their achievements. 

How are you seeing technology impact farming today?

High intensity farms have heavily invested in technology because they're just trying to be as efficient as possible. And you know, as a farm kid, I know the pressure that's on all of our rural communities to find labour. It's not easy finding a worker to run equipment compared to 20 years ago. So the need for automation is there to simply enable farms to operate. 

You have visited close to 30 countries and your work gives you the chance to speak with farmers from all parts of the world. Is a farmer in Saskatchewan similar to a farmer in South Dakota or even Australia?

I think they are very, very similar in the things we would expect them to be similar in. Farmers are all wresting with the exact same issues and many of them are global issues that they can't control. For example, grain prices impacted by the war in Ukraine. 

They're a unique personality type that can manage to live in so much uncertainty but still plan a business and grow crops. They all take a great deal of pride in feeding humanity and being stewards of the land. That's all pretty fundamental no matter where you go. 

The differences you see are more community and societal differences. For example, rural Australia is extremely sparsely populated and very remote. In Saskatchewan, we have Stars Air Ambulance that flies helicopters out to you if you're sick. In rural Australia, they actually fly their doctors out to communities because there are so few hospitals. If you're out in the middle of rural Australia, you could be five or six hours away from any major centre that would have even basic healthcare. So they are dealing with a lot of things that we take for granted in North America.

How did it feel to be nominated for a CBC Saskatchewan Future 40 award in 2013?

I thought it was pretty awesome. A pretty big chunk of my discretionary energy goes to trying to give back to the community. I've always been a volunteer and providing time to help make the community a better place.

I've had people ask why I volunteer in my community. It's not for the recognition but it's to see the impact that you do. I'm more interested in how volunteering establishes awareness and creates an example for others to do the same thing. Volunteering is an important part of why Saskatchewan is such a great place. 

One of the things I love about Future 40 is looking at the list and being inspired by other people. Was that something you felt when you were nominated?

Yeah, the CBC has done a really good job of creating an alumni group and I've been able to follow the program ever since it was launched. The number of amazing talent that has been highlighted and the diversity of people are things I think are really cool. I felt very humbled by the people that were in my cohort. 

A great thing about the Prairies is how humble we are, but now that I live in South Dakota, I've been able to see that America culture is less humble. And there's no shame in that. I think they got it right because you're not going to get ahead as a society if you are always so bashful and never talking about your accomplishments. 

I think some people get criticized for being to brash or arrogant about their accomplishments and there's something to that. I think we just need to find the right balance and initiatives like Future 40 help to remind us that it's ok to be talking about your successes.