Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today about the barriers that keep young farmers from starting farming.
My name is Luke Lelond, and I'm a mixed farmer from western Manitoba. We raise cattle and grain. I'm from a very unusual area in this day and age. There are 20 farmers under the age of 35 in our municipality. The thing we all have in common is that we would not be farming today if it were not for our parents.
Unless your parents are willing to mortgage their retirement, it is very hard to find someone willing to lend you, without much collateral, enough money to buy land and equipment and run a farm. The most obvious barrier to anyone wanting to farm is capital. Very few people have the cash to buy a farm, and most can't borrow enough either.
Now, let's say you got the money. You bought some land and started farming. What happens if you had a disaster, as I did? You'd go broke if no one was there to bail you out.
I started farming in 2003. BSE hit. Then the long-term family PMU business I was about to buy into downsized, and I lost my opportunity to get established in a profitable farming venture.
Then, in 2004, with the beautiful wheat crop coming, I, along with all of western Manitoba, was hit with an early August frost. All of my crops were reduced to feed. I sold the wheat and collected crop insurance. It did not pay for the spray and fertilizer bill. Our margin-based safety nets did not work.
While the wealthiest farmers get paid the most, the ones with the least money and collateral get nothing. Why is that? The wealthier the farmer, the better the margin. The newest farmers don't have margins.
With the farming disasters of 2003 and 2004--at least in our area--the farming industry lost a lot of good young farmers. If this panel is looking for real solutions to this problem and not just paying lip service to it, this is an area that needs change. If you truly want young farmers to be in the industry and are going to have safety nets, the programs must be of some value to young farmers.
The programs also need to be administered in a timely fashion. I had an established neighbour who, after losing his farm due to BSE and moving to town for employment, received an AgriStability payment five years too late. Not everyone's banker will wait for five years. This does not help keep farmers in the industry.
Access to markets is very important to our bottom line, as we found out during BSE and now with the Triffid issue. I was reading last night that the field trials could start this year for another GM flax at the University of Alberta. Why must we ram things down the consumer's throat instead of asking them what they want? It is the farmer who pays the price.
Oh yes, and to add insult to injury, neither of the two officials contacted in the university's faculty of agriculture had heard of CDC Triffid or the problems it had caused. These are the people we trust to keep our market safe.
During the last few years of turmoil in the markets, I was very fortunate to have grain locked in at a profitable price with the Canadian Wheat Board. I was guaranteed my money, something that farmers who sold directly to independent buyers were not. If that doesn't seem important, ask the American farmers who had $7 corn locked in with ethanol plants that went bankrupt.
We hear a lot about the last Wheat Board plebiscite. I did not get a vote in the last one even though I qualified. I was not on the voting list. Although I attempted to get on the list, my ballot came too late to be cast.
Incidentally, I know an older couple who never farmed a day in their life, and they each received a ballot on time. It makes you question the results.
I have stated the problems as I see them. Now I will offer you some solutions as I see them from a young farmer's point of view. I will state them briefly, and I would welcome questions.
First and foremost, a proper safety net program has to be established by an act of Parliament. Without an act of Parliament, the rules change day by day, something we've witnessed for years now.
Second, leave the Wheat Board in the farmers' hands.
Third, when a company releases a product that causes undue hardship to farmers, the company should be held responsible, and the farmer should be compensated.
Fourth, PFRA community pastures are very important to young farmers trying to get into the cattle business. Please continue to support them.
And if you're feeling really generous, maybe you'll reinstate the Crow rate.
Thank you.