Thank you, Chair; and thank you, everyone, for coming.
I think Leza's words at the beginning spelled out what we already know, that the industry is virtually being destroyed in this country, and the beef industry, who we heard from on Tuesday, isn't far behind. Everything that so many people have worked for is basically going down the tubes.
In November 2007, just two years ago, one of the fellows with the Canadian Pork Council, Curtiss Littlejohn, had this to say when he was here as a witness, and it's in our report of December 2007:
Simply put, prices are collapsing, input costs have increased dramatically, and cash losses are mounting at such astonishing rates that entire communities, including producers and their input suppliers, face financial ruin.
I think Mr. Cooper makes that point. That's where we are. If I were to put it simply, I don't think the hog industry has ever seen a crisis as bad as this, or one that has been so sustained, and never, ever have we had a government do less. Quite honestly, the farm leadership--