Bill C-280

Financial Protection for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Farmers Act

An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (deemed trust – perishable fruits and vegetables)

This enactment amends the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act to provide that the perishable fruits and vegetables sold by a supplier to a purchaser, as well as the proceeds of sale of those fruits and vegetables, are to be held in trust by the purchaser for the supplier in the event that the purchaser has not fully paid for the fruits or vegetables and becomes bankrupt or the subject to a receivership or applies to the court to sanction a compromise or an arrangement.

[Ron Lemaire]

Mr. Davidson was on that trip. We went with a group of Liberals and Conservatives and senators. We met with U.S. officials, both congressmen and USDA officials, to get confirmation that all we need to do to get privileged access back to PACA in the U.S. is to implement Bill C-280 as written. That was confirmed.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to thank the witnesses for being with us today.

Mr. Lemaire, I'll start with you.

You spoke in response to my colleague Mr. Hoback about the plastics registry and the possible impact under CUSMA rules currently. I think many of the witnesses here today have talked about the need for regulatory harmonization as we move forward with our partners, both Mexico and the United States.

In your response about the probable impact that might happen with food prices because of this, you talked about a Deloitte study and a 30% increase in food costs as a result. I think our committee would benefit from that Deloitte study, if you could share that with us. For our purposes, I think that would be hugely important.

You also spoke about Bill C-280, which is a private member's bill from our colleague Scot Davidson. He's spearheading it. It's in the Senate right now. It received unanimous support in the House of Commons, and I believe the same in the Senate. I think this legislation will potentially pave the way for reinstating the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act protection in the U.S. for Canadian growers.

What does the government need to do to push for this to happen as part of CUSMA, or even prior to CUSMA?

[Ron Lemaire]

That's a good question.

I'll speak to the question that was asked around the deemed trust discussions.

In Canada, if we move forward with the mechanism around financial protection, then Bill C-280, which is in front of the Senate, would be one of the other tools that would enable working around and within CUSMA. Because it is built within the framework of tri-national modelling, it would give us access to a dispute resolution model within a preferential system that no others have internationally. Then Canadian growers in the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, and exporters, would be able to access that dispute resolution tool.

It just means moving our own bankruptcy protection here forward to enable the U.S. to reinstate that preferential access, due to the reciprocity nature that they're requesting. It's slightly outside of CUSMA, but it's founded within the context of the North American free trade agreement.

[Ron Lemaire]

We have to give the House and parliamentarians credit. You kept the Senate very busy, and they made the decision to focus on House priorities only. We were moving into the banking committee to review Bill C-280, and that has been postponed now until the fall.

I was actually to testify this morning around the benefits of market stabilization and trade, because if we can introduce the bankruptcy tool for the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, we will regain a trading tool, preferential access to a trading tool with the U.S. that, in the event of a dispute, will provide a clear strategy on sustainability for our fruit and vegetable growers when we ship south.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Why is this important? Think about this: Anytime the Chippewas of Georgina Island have any interaction with the federal government, they are classified as rural and remote. Now we have first nations being classified as Toronto, and they do not receive the 20% rural top-up.

I'll go back to my colleague's comment about how impressed he is with the Holland Marsh and the soup and salad bowl of Canada. This is a farming community in Bradford West Gwillimbury. I currently have a private member's bill, Bill C-280, on financial protection for fresh fruit and vegetable growers across Canada. I brought fresh fruits and vegetables to the agriculture committee to showcase my riding. The mascot of Bradford West Gwillimbury is a carrot called Gwilly. That's how rural York—Simcoe is, but this Liberal government has classified York—Simcoe as Toronto.

Again, it's so important to set the stage. Going back to the CN Tower, I drove down to Toronto. With my powerful binoculars, which I would almost classify as a telescope, I was up in the CN Tower with perfect visibility and I could still not see the Chippewas of Georgina Island, the town of Pefferlaw or the town of Sutton. How does this make sense?

In the northern part of the riding, in the town of Pefferlaw, we don't receive the rural top-up. Let's have a look at that. I'll go back to my colleague for Whitby on technology. If you were to pull your phone out and try to order an Uber, you'll see we have no Uber.

[George Gilvesy, Chair, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers]

Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to present to you today on behalf of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers. I am here today with Mr. Richard Lee, our executive director.

OGVG represents over 170 greenhouse vegetable growers across the province, producing over 3,900 acres of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. The greenhouse vegetable sector is one of the fastest-growing segments of Canadian agriculture. Our members generate $1.4 billion in farm gate sales as of 2022, a contribution of over 14,000 jobs to the workforce and a consistent track record of growth. The sector is a valuable contributor to the Ontario and Canadian economy, and it is the future of farming in Canada that is capable of yielding over 20 times more than conventional field farming as we manage the evolution of climate change.

With over 81% of our product exported to the United States, we are an export-dependent sector providing fresh, nutritious produce to consumers across North America. Our dependency on export and trade was confirmed during the pandemic that defined the integration of the food system across North America. This dependency correlates to the need for alignment on policies that impact our ability to compete sustainably in the global marketplace while managing the crisis on food costs to the consumer.

Canada’s approach to climate change presents a major challenge to our growers. The escalating price on carbon only works where users can feasibly transition to alternative energy sources. These transitions and timelines face significant barriers with the lack of available technology and the limitations of public infrastructure, primarily in the electrical grid. Canada continues to penalize food producers, while the United States adopts incentivization to achieve its climate change goals through the Inflation Reduction Act and its various programs.

In 2024 our members will pay over $18 million in carbon tax, net of the 80% relief we currently receive. This is scheduled to be over $40 million by 2030 based on current production if the 80% relief is maintained. In summary, over a 10-year period, our members will have paid over $242 million in carbon tax.

Canada is not an island, and we have great concern that policies around carbon and plastics will influence the continued growth and investment in greenhouse production throughout Canada. Greenhouses will continue to be built to satisfy consumers' increasing needs for food security and fresh produce, but the question will be whether that investment takes place in a jurisdiction that penalizes food production or in one that provides incentives. In the interim, however, we would encourage the swift passage by the House of Commons of Bill C-234 in its original state.

For years, our members have been consciously looking at improving the packaging options for our products. We have embraced the use of packaging that is recyclable to protect the integrity of our produce, providing food safety and traceability while offering consumers new options on ready-to-eat healthy snack-size produce products.

We have serious concerns, again, about the imposition of plastics rules that ignore many of these positive attributes while also increasing food waste and the potential costs of produce by an estimated 34%—according to Deloitte—and while negatively impacting healthy eating habits. This plastics policy will create two different market requirements for the U.S. and for Canada, which may lead to products being unavailable to Canadian consumers if shippers no longer consider Canada to be a viable market for their products.

In the context of producing food, we would offer this: Does it make sense to institute policies and direct taxes that have the impact of increasing food costs? Everyone needs food, and we again would suggest that incentivizing change may provide a better approach and outcome.

We also have comments on a few other points.

OGVG strongly encourages the swift passage of Bill C-280, which is currently in front of the Senate. Financial security is a critical aspect to supporting farmers, and this bill supports a long-standing gap in the produce sector. In addition, it will provide a corrective action on a long-standing trade irritant with the United States.

OGVG advises that in the context of climate change, Canada should consider a North American perimeter strategy on pests and diseases.

Based on previous outdated pest assessments, the CFIA believes these organisms will not survive our cold winters, but the weather is changing, and so is the availability of hosts in the expansion of greenhouses and indoor agriculture. Our pest risk assessments should be re-evaluated.

As a final comment, Mr. Chair, greenhouse producers do not have access to production insurance, and our current safety nets are not representative of controlled environment agriculture. In addition, our experience with AgriRecovery has been dismal, in spite of multi-million-dollar losses and a great impact on our membership.

Thank you for the opportunity to present today.

[Catherine Lefebvre]

Bill C-280 is very good for us. It represents financial security. Given the number of clients we have, I'd say it really represents financial security for Quebec.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to the witnesses for being with us today.

My question is for Ms. Lefebvre or Mr. Léger Bourgoin.

Bill C-280 is now at the second reading stage in the Senate, and we hope it will receive royal assent as soon as possible.

Do you have a clear message for us regarding the direction and relevance of Bill C-280?

[Ron Lemaire, President, Canadian Produce Marketing Association]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good morning, committee members. I want to thank the committee for the opportunity to speak on the issues impacting Canada's horticultural sector.

CPMA, as you know, represents 850 companies growing, packing, shipping and selling fresh fruit and vegetables, and is responsible for 90% of the produce sales in Canada. In 2023 the Conference Board of Canada pegged our sector's contribution to the national GDP at almost $15 billion and found that the fresh produce supply chain supported over 185,000 jobs in rural and urban communities across the country.

The issues impacting the fresh produce supply chain are diverse and complex. First, fresh produce consumption is declining. This is a concern. Government support is needed to keep produce accessible to Canadians and make it easier for Canadians to meet Canada's food guide recommendation to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables.

Year over year, consumption rates have decreased as food prices have increased. Canadian adults should be eating seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily, but recent reports found that 34% of Canadians are consuming just one or two servings per day. In fact, the latest Stats Canada numbers show that almost 80% of Canadians over the age of 12 are eating less than five servings a day.

There are both health and economic consequences to these trends. A recent report by Professor Krueger at the University of British Columbia found that as fruit and vegetable consumption has decreased, the economic burden attributed to low consumption in Canada has increased to close to $8 billion annually, a 60% increase since 2015. Supporting access to nutritious produce, including through a national school food policy and school meal program, could contribute significantly to Canadians' health and well-being, while also decreasing the government's health care spending.

Second, increasing overall access to fruits and vegetables across Canada requires government programs and policies to address the regulatory burden and significant challenges impacting our sector's ability to produce and distribute fresh fruits and vegetables, such as the availability and costs of labour, production costs, transportation and border access. The national supply chain office and the development of a national supply chain strategy are important opportunities for more effective cross-government collaboration to help ensure that Canadians can continue to put our essential products on their table.

Third, it is crucial to recognize the costs of adjusting our supply chain to meet the challenges posed by emerging sustainability and environmental policies. CPMA members have been showing leadership in addressing such areas as biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration, food loss and waste, renewable energy, soil health, water conservation and much more. The fresh produce sector has also undertaken significant efforts to align with the government's zero plastic waste agenda. Since 2019, our sector has experienced a 17% decrease in plastic volumes due to industry programs to address the government targets. However, the produce industry remains concerned with recent ECCC proposals related to the fresh produce packaging elimination strategy and targets that are impossible to meet for our sector.

We are keen to work with the government to support and build on industry's substantial efforts with regulatory and policy initiatives that align with global practices and policies to ensure the sustainability and competitiveness of the agri-food industry, offer incentives for industry efforts, provide secure access to safe food for Canadians and do not create unintentional food waste or increase the carbon footprint of the Canadian food supply.

I would be remiss if I did not mention financial protection for produce sellers and the grocery code of conduct. CPMA is greatly appreciative of the support shown by all committee members for Bill C-280. We hope you will strongly encourage your Senate counterparts to prioritize the passage of this important legislation. Also, as an interim board member of the code, I can attest to the fact that everyone continues to work hard to introduce a voluntary code that is uniquely Canadian.

As noted earlier, the issues impacting our sector are very complex. We need to take a full food system approach. We have shared with the committee our list of recommendations for the 2024 federal budget. These recommendations include areas not covered in my remarks.

I would close with this: The government needs to make food a federal priority and promote effective policies to support the production and movement of perishable items like produce to ensure the long-term viability of the fresh produce supply chain in Canada.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to join you today. I'm happy to answer questions later.

[Marcus Janzen, Vice-President, Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My name is Marcus Janzen and I have the privilege of serving as the vice-president of the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada. I also, during the day, have a pepper greenhouse just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, in Abbotsford.

I'm here before you to discuss the pressing issue of stabilizing food prices in Canada, a concern that deeply affects Canadian fruit and vegetable growers, as well as all Canadian citizens. FVGC represents approximately 14,000 farms, producing 120 types of crops, and we contribute about $6.8 billion to the Canadian economy.

A 2022 survey conducted by our organization revealed that close to 44% of our growers are operating at a loss presently, and three-quarters have difficulty offsetting production cost increases that would include the carbon tax, the P2 plastics program, tariffs on fertilizer and aggressive targets for reducing fertilizer emissions. Those challenges, including Bill C-234, risk the sector's affordability and sustainability going forward.

Bill C-234 is at a critical place. By eliminating heating and cooling exemptions to greenhouses and barns, this jeopardizes our competitiveness, as we heard from the previous witnesses, particularly relative to the U.S.

We propose a series of actions that would include the following: reject the proposed amendments to Bill C-234; remove the P2 plastics program in order to further evaluate, particularly when it comes to PLUs, the unintended impacts on costs and therefore food prices; and eliminate the fertilizer tariffs in order to not disproportionately negatively effect domestic producers. We need, again, the idea of having a more cohesive regulatory conversation with government before policies are in place. We would look for the quick passage of Bill C-280, which is essentially the PACA-like trust to be reinstated.

Lastly, we would support an increased resolve to bring the grocery code of conduct into reality.

That concludes my remarks.

Opposition Motion—Passage of Bill C-234 by the Senate

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to withdraw the comment and apologize. I want to recognize that the Bloc absolutely is in line with the NDP on abolishing the upper chamber.

The member is right. In addition to Bill C-234, there is a very important bill that we were proud to support, Bill C-282. There are a lot of supply-managed farmers in my riding who personally met with me. I met with many of their industry groups.

We were proud to support that piece of legislation, because we simply cannot trust Liberal and Conservative governments to honour the spirit of supply management. We agreed with the Bloc Québécois in putting that in legislation so that we can prevent future governments from negotiating away our supply-managed industries.

I want to give another shout-out. The member for York—Simcoe has Bill C-280 in the Senate. I hope that the Senate will respect the will of this House, because that is another important bill dealing with the Canadian Produce Marketing Association and the fresh fruit and vegetable sector.

Again, strong agricultural bills are coming from the House of Commons. I think one thing that Canadians deserve from us is for us to have consistency in our positions. If we look at the Conservative history at the Senate, it has been anything but consistent.

Financial Protection for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Farmers Act

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at third reading stage of Bill C‑280, under Private Members' Business.

The House resumed from October 19 consideration of the motion that Bill C‑280, An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (deemed trust — perishable fruits and vegetables), be read the third time and passed.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's fresh fruit and vegetable growers should be paid for the fruit and vegetables they grow, full stop. Bill C-280 will ensure that fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers are not unduly disadvantaged by the bankruptcy of a produce buyer.

The deemed trust established by this bill will also support the highly integrated produce trade between Canada and the United States. Farmers and other suppliers in Canada have been pushing for these measures for almost 20 years. The absence of a deemed trust has cost produce suppliers their farms and livelihoods and has jeopardized our domestic food security. With Bill C-280, we can finally change that.

This is a common-sense Conservative bill that has been supported by all parties in this House. I want to thank all members for that, especially the Conservative shadow minister for agriculture and agri-food, the member for Foothills; the chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, the member for Kings—Hants; the member for Berthier-Maskinongé; and the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford for their support. It goes to show the cross-country support this bill has.

Bill C-280 will provide financial protection measures for those growing fruits and vegetables from coast to coast to coast. This includes asparagus in Quebec, sweet potatoes in Nova Scotia, and carrots in the soup and salad bowl of Canada, home to the Holland Marsh in my riding of York—Simcoe. Of course, this week we saw the leader of the official opposition clearly loved the Ambrosia apples in the great province of British Columbia. How about those apples?

I am also grateful to Ron Lemaire and Shannon Sommerauer from the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, Quinton Woods from the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada, Fred Webber from the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation, Jody Mott from the Holland Marsh Growers' Association, and of course, my number one staff in Ottawa, Patrick Speck, who worked tirelessly on this bill with me, as well as my staff in the riding: Jennifer, Michael and Carol.

My thanks to Suzanne, my wife. I told her that it would all be worth it, all the long days and nights here in Ottawa, which I know all members can appreciate.

It is time we get this over the line. I urge members to support Bill C-280 when this is voted upon next week. I trust that legislators in that other place with the red carpet, who can be a little slow sometimes, will deal with it promptly, given the multi-party support for these measures. Like we say in York—Simcoe, “Be ready, Senators”.

Right now, Canadians are dealing with the high cost of food. With Bill C-56 and other measures, the government has been talking about stabilizing food prices. Bill C-280 is going to lower prices of fresh fruits and vegetables that Canadians need now, so we all need to get behind this.

Too often Canadians, especially rural Canadians, think we cannot work together in this place. They think we cannot get anything done and they believe that whatever is accomplished does not have any relevance to or impact on their lives. In rural communities, people band together every day. They are the foundation of what it means to be Canadian. They want to see this place work for them, they want to see the way it works for one another. I firmly believe that Bill C-280 sends a message to every produce farmer and supplier that we understand the issues they face and that we are committed to addressing them.

The hard work of passing this bill is nothing compared to the boots in the muck in the Holland Marsh, which all farmers face right across Canada, but I can tell colleagues this. We are going to get behind them with this bill. We are going to get it done. Let us get Bill C-280 passed for the farmers right across Canada.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here this evening to speak to Bill C-280, which was introduced by the member for York—Simcoe. He sits next to me here in the House, and he is certainly not afraid to make his voice heard when it comes time to defend our produce growers. The Bloc Québécois is pleased to join him in his efforts.

Many members of the Bloc Québécois would have liked to sponsor this bill. I am thinking, for example, of the member for Berthier—Maskinongé or the member for Salaberry—Suroît. I, too, could have introduced this bill, because there are a lot of produce growers in my riding of Mirabel. The bill could have also been introduced by the member for Joliette or the member for Repentigny. In short, we all care a lot about this issue.

I therefore want to thank my colleague. There are some nice moments in Parliament when we can say that we are working together to do important things. Perhaps this should have been done sooner. This also reminds us of the importance of private members' bills, because they are inspired by what we see on the ground, by the people and businesses in our ridings. It reminds us of the fundamental work that members must do on the ground. I truly commend my colleague and, obviously, he is invited to come visit the maple capital of the world, Mirabel, any time he likes.

Produce growers, meaning fruit and vegetable producers, are still facing major challenges that continue to grow. We have talked about production costs, the cost of fertilizers and raw materials, and the declining demand for certain niche products as people struggle to afford things that can sometimes be perceived as luxuries at the grocery store.

We have talked about the Conservatives running deficit after deficit when they were in government. Things went from bad to worse under the Liberals. They are the kings of deficits. We have talked about bargaining power. Sometimes, small producers have to negotiate with resellers.

Bad weather is also a factor. I met some produce growers this summer as part of the Canada summer jobs program. I visited some businesses. I met Léanne and Vincent from the Entre Ciel et Terre farm in Sainte‑Anne‑des‑Plaines, Stéphanie from the Complètement légume farm in Saint‑Augustin, and Cinthya from Tierra Viva Gardens in Saint‑Augustin.

As we walked around the plots, they told us that they had lost 100%, 50% or 75% of this or that crop because of the rains. These people do not make a lot of money. They are true artisans. This serves as a reminder, and we cannot stress this enough, of the need for compensation programs here in Ottawa. However, that file is not moving forward quickly.

We can talk about the difficulties associated with climate change, bad weather, labour shortages, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the issue of temporary foreign workers, which creates challenges for our businesses. Then, there is foreign competition, obviously.

It is important to protect these companies when they sell their produce to resellers. How does the current system work? The member for York—Simcoe helped me gain a better understanding of how it works when someone is a fruit and vegetable grower.

Say that an American grows apples and sells them to a grocery store, to a reseller. If the grocery store goes bankrupt, this American has protection. He is registered as a supplier and, if the grocery store goes bankrupt, the government recognizes the fact that, since the supplier has not been paid, these fruits and vegetables belong to him and he is immediately reimbursed. That is the American system. Until 2014, Canadian and Quebec producers benefited from this system because they could sell their produce in the United States. If they sold to a grocery store in the U.S. and the grocery store or chain went bankrupt, they could get reimbursed the same way. This meant that we were relying on the Americans to protect our own producers.

In 2014, the Americans looked at what Canada was doing and found that Canada was in bad shape, that it had a terrible approach. They realized that their producers would not be protected if they sold their produce in Canada. If a Canadian grocery store or reseller went bankrupt, the producers would not get paid unless they went through an extremely costly process, which no small producer would go through if they could avoid it. Logically speaking, our own farmers were not protected either. The Americans told us to wake up, smarten up and protect our farmers and theirs so that there could be some sort of reciprocity.

In 2014, when the Americans tried to clue us in and told us that they were sick of protecting our farmers for us, they thought this would make the Canadian government sit up. They thought they were alerting Canada to take action. What has happened since? Cue the crickets, because nothing happened. The federal government did nothing. Now our farmers are no longer protected either in the United States or here at home. That is tough.

In 2016, we had a new Prime Minister who said, “Canada is back”. That was two years later. He went to the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada and promised to get Canadian farmers back into this U.S. program, which would require Canada to adopt certain measures. Then the same old thing happened that always happens with the federal government when things are urgent: it waited and waited and waited.

Today, a courageous MP decided he would table these changes in the government's place. All of us members who have farmers in our riding are proud of that. We are proud to support him. We think this bill should have been fast-tracked directly to the Senate. We think there should not have been any nonsense. We think that there has been enough nonsense since 2014, and this process should have gone faster.

Right now, if our farmers want help, there are mechanisms. For example, in the United States, they have to file suit. There is a mechanism requiring them to pay a deposit worth twice the amount of the claim. They do not have the means to do that. The idea is to deter them so they never get paid for their fruits and vegetables and the products they sold to a reseller. It is disrespectful to the farmers who feed us and feed our cities. I want to stress that part for those who do not represent agricultural ridings. We are all connected to those farmers in some way.

Not only is it disrespectful, but it is also completely out of touch with the reality of being a farmer. Farmers have plenty to do without having to go to court, hire lawyers and waste their time on administrative procedures. Farmers are on the ground, dealing with all the problems I listed. They are in the fields, the orchards and the greenhouses. They take care of their businesses and their workers. They deal with temporary foreign worker applications while Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada takes its sweet time and the federal government does nothing to make the system better. That is what they do.

This bill will make their lives easier. It is going to restore justice. It is going to reduce the risks they bear in one of the riskiest sectors on the market. As we can see, it is getting harder and harder to attract new farmers, because it is not easy work. I want to thank the bill's sponsor for making all this easier for our farmers.

The bill will make the buyer of these products liable for the value of the shipment. The shipment will not belong to the buyer until the invoice has been paid. There will be a kind of priority list so that, if the person who has ordered agricultural products but has not paid their invoice goes bankrupt, the producer will be assured of getting paid without much trouble.

Right now, the system says that farmers have the right to get paid. Fifteen days after the bankruptcy, they have the right to recover the goods that were sold 30 days before. Do members see how little sense that makes for the agricultural industry? If any member of the House is opposed to this bill, I would challenge them to eat a 45-day-old salad or some withered old strawberries or blueberries. They can do it in the lobby and I will film it.

Under the current system, what we are telling farmers is to take back their rotten produce. That is how we are treating them. The current system is rotten. It needs to be changed. We need to move forward on this. This bill needs to move forward. The Senate needs to pay close attention to this so that this bill is passed quickly.