I was wondering if I could add something on getting into farming, from both the Frontier Centre's perspective and my own. You mentioned young farmers. I wish people could think of it as “new farmers”. That's a better term. I'm facing every challenge a young 20-year-old person is in getting into farming. Quite frankly, I've put in over half a million dollars of pure equity to get into farming, and I'm still a very small farmer.
I'd like to make two points on supply management. First, we should be focused on ensuring that supply management can maximize the adoption and diffusion of new technologies and production techniques. Whether or not supply management is in place, out west, or at the Wheat Board, is irrelevant to me. We should be making sure that innovation and new technologies are adopted.
My second point is a little closer to home. I sell over 80% of my product directly to consumers. Why do they come to me? It's a little about quality, but it's more about the relationship. I don't know how we can do it with supply management or the Wheat Board, but somehow or other we have to respond to the desire of a significant portion of the market, of the consumers, to know where their food is coming from, to know specifically who produced it, and to be able to develop a relationship with that food. You can't develop a relationship with food you pick up at Loblaws. You can develop a relationship with food you pick up at the farmer's market or at the farm. We've heard in the news about how the combination of health and safety standards and quotas inhibit the development of that relationship. I'm not saying we should get rid of the marketing boards, but somehow or other we have to come up with a system that allows consumers the choice and flexibility to create a relationship with the food they consume.
Thank you.