I'd like to thank our witnesses for their presentations and also welcome the students. It's always nice to have more people come in and take an interest in the ag committee.
I'll start with two questions that apply to both of you.
On Monday we had witnesses come in who commented on the fact that we are losing scientists. We are losing specialists to other countries. I was wondering if that is something you have encountered in your fields of expertise. If so, what can be done to counter that in order to keep the bright minds here and maybe attract more?
The second question is about the agri-innovation program. Has it encouraged R and D in our industry? What works and what doesn't work? What can we do when it comes to recommendations to make it better if needed?