Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Schoepp, you said that you had a magazine and that you were looking at agriculture from a high altitude. I have not seen your magazine, so I cannot say anything about it. However, I want to know how you can tell urban dwellers what is going on in the country when no one ever talks about it. The people in the city only see big tractors, big combines, big machinery. City dwellers think that all farmers are rich, that they do not need any money or any help from the government of from whomever.
I cannot imagine that you have never talked about it in your magazine, since you are looking at agriculture from a very high level. The people are not aware that farmers work 80 hours a week, seven days a week, 12 months of the year. There will be no young farmers to relieve them. Why? Because they do not want to work 80 hours a week, seven days a week, never having any holidays, never going to Florida or elsewhere. We must ensure that city dwellers understand that farming is hard work.
I was born on a farm and I know what it is all about. As I have already told several persons, my municipality had 127 milk producers in 1957. Today, only two are left. Why? Because it requires working seven days a week and it never ends. Farmers should explain to urban dwellers what agriculture is all about. A person who is employed by some company works 37 or 40 hours. If that person is employed in a hospital, he or she works 37 hours and a half and then has three days off. Farmers do not have any holidays. If they do, it is because their farm is huge and they have enough employees, allowing them to enjoy the good life. But even in such cases, they have a lot of things to think about.
I would like to know your opinion about this, Ms. Schoepp.