I think there are of a couple of tools that can be used. One issue we face here is that we have a lot of farm organizations—commodity groups, livestock organizations, crop improvement associations—and it's hard, especially in a rural environment like Ontario, and it's even worse I think in the west, to get good people to sit on those committees and boards.
I would like to see a situation in our tax code whereby if you volunteer—these basically are volunteer positions—to sit on these commodity organizations, especially for younger people, because we need some new blood in there, you could write off $400 or $500 a year on your tax return. We do it for getting kids involved in scouting and camps and hockey and soccer and all that sort of stuff. There should be something for beginning farmers who want to sit on organizations. Maybe we could establish one to get more people involved in these things also.
The other thing I would like to see happening is a sort of mentoring program for beginning farmers under which they could sign up with an existing farmer and learn the tools a little more, especially from a business side. The agronomics or the veterinary side is the easy part. But there should be a win-win for both parties.
I'd be more than happy. I've taken in a number of exchange students over the years. I just have a hard time understanding why all these exchange students always have to come from overseas to learn from us. Where are the local people? It's because there is no financial incentive to mentor with what I would consider to be a leading farmer, to learn some of the tricks of the trade and that sort of thing.
If I were to take somebody in locally to mentor them, there should be a break in the tax code for that, and also for that person to go to FCC or the bank or whatever and say, “I have my ag degree or diploma and I have this mentoring system under my belt”—it's no different from the ag leadership program or some of these sorts of things—and get a cut of half a point on the interest rate. You're doing cuts on energy loans and that sort of thing through FCC; why not for beginning farmers, with extended terms?