Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to the witness for coming here today.
Mr. Hermanson, after reading your resumé and hearing some of the questioning around the table, there's no doubt in my mind about your qualifications. The only argument that somebody would give, and certainly not a valid one, is anything based on partisanship. I think that argument will go on forever. When somebody gets a role such as what you have ahead of you here, that argument will always come from the opposition people, if they think so. So that's irrelevant in the whole thing.
The fact that you have some political experience and the fact that you have been involved in agriculture actually hits home very closely. I married my good wife in 1975 and started farming full time, albeit with my father, for a number of years. So I can relate to that, and I've been through a lot of the same experiences.
In your role here, Mr. Hermanson, one of the things I'd like to hear you talk about is that things have changed and are changing still, as we speak, in the grain industry, and through the ethanol and biofuels industry, and through some of the recent trade agreements that have been reached by this government and some that are still being negotiated, which definitely are going to benefit agriculture as much or more than any other sector of Canadian business. I'd like to hear your ideas on how you're going to use your position here and direct the grain industry to deal with those.
I think another one that's really positive is that Canadian farmers, especially western farmers, have made it quite clear how happy they are to be able to have a choice in barley sales. There could possibly be a large increase in barley acreage across the country.
So I'd like to hear you speak a bit about those three things, the challenges and how your role will help direct them and help the industry come out of it in the best shape at the end.