I want to draw the attention of this committee to the changing world of agriculture producers in Canada, and that's the intangibles. I spend hundreds of hours a year dealing with rezoning applications, because if the farmers don't go to these rezoning applications....
We're in the Okanagan. We go to a lot of meetings to preserve our right to water, to preserve our right to be able to make a bit of noise, to be able to continue to do what my grandfather and my father have been able to do. I'm third generation. It takes hundreds and hundreds of hours.
And then you throw this national park thing at us, and that's a threat to agriculture in the south Okanagan, from our perspective. I use helicopters. The helicopters are here because they can use the mountain. I use compost. My manure supply will be compromised if we lose the cattle grazing in the national park.
Those intangibles, I think, are a lot harder on us as farmers, because there hasn't been a strong statement of support from our senior government. I don't hear enough, and we as producers don't hear enough--and I'm not talking about safety net programs or anything like that--commitment from our federal and our provincial governments that agriculture is important, that farmers are important people in our communities.
I would like to leave that thought with you, that in any way, in any of your meetings, you can think, hey, why don't we say something good and strong about our agriculture producers? We do, after all, feed you. Each and every one of you needs us, and each and every other Canadian does. But it's this intangible thing. The walls are coming in on us. We spend thousands of hours defending our right to farm and being part of the community as farmers, and it's getting harder and harder and harder.
Thank you very much for your time. Thank you for the extra two minutes. I much appreciate it.