Agriculture committee  Most producers send their production for processing. I was talking earlier about traceability. Every barrel is graded before being sent to the processing plant. The syrup is then processed and exported.

Agriculture committee  For the past few years, the maple syrup industries in Quebec and in Canada have coexisted in harmony. As I said earlier about the 8%, we must take advantage of the momentum and make our product known. Every time we have invested in promoting it, the production—the increase in vo

Agriculture committee  I am also a dairy farmer.

Agriculture committee  Dairy farmers in Canada invest a great deal in promoting those products so that they become known. In recent years, we have invested a lot of money in fine cheeses, given how popular they are with our consumers. As you said, there are winners and losers. In terms of supply manage

Agriculture committee  We are talking about producing an average of a litre of maple syrup per tap.

Agriculture committee  Quebec has 43 million taps. On average, there are 6,000 taps in an orchard.

Agriculture committee  Yes. In Quebec, syrup can be traced all the way to the farm. Whether the syrup is organic or conventional, European consumers want the product to be traceable to the farm. Each barrel of syrup that goes to market is graded. We have a higher standard in Canada than they do in the

Agriculture committee  We have been doing things for several years, such as liming the trees specifically to counter acid rain and to maintain the health of the trees so that they can produce year after year. In the areas where acid rain is more of a problem, we are forced to lime the maples in the orc

Agriculture committee  If all it means is an extra 8% profit, we are going to miss the boat. We have to use that 8% first to get ahead of our competitors from the United States and then to give ourselves some breathing room so that we can get our product known. Over the years, Quebec maple syrup produ

Agriculture committee  We have been investing in promotion in Europe for several years. Last year, exports increased from 5% to 6%. It would be an attainable objective to invest more in promotion, say, 10% per year for the next five years.

Agriculture committee  There is a slight difference in price. It is 15¢ more per pound on a base price of $3. That is not a huge amount. It just serves to compensate producers for the extra work they have to do to produce syrup of that kind. I mentioned that before. More work is needed in the productio

Agriculture committee  It is natural, whether or not it is organic. The difference lies in the method of production. With organic maple syrup, no cleaning products can be used during the boiling season. The stands of trees have to be properly maintained. Things must be monitored. There is also a list

Agriculture committee  Actually, there is a best practices guide to follow. But, with the organic product, the list of requirements must be followed and recorded every day. The orchards must also be managed according to sustainability standards. There are standards for tapping. A tree cannot be tapped

Agriculture committee  Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me to testify. My name is Serge Beaulieu and I am a maple producer from Ormstown in the Montérégie region of Quebec. I am also the president of the Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec, an organization founded in 1966. Our missio