Thank you very much.
Despite the challenges of the last eight years, the beef industry remains one of the biggest generators of gate cash receipts in Canada. In 2010, cattle-calf receipts in Canada totalled over $6 billion, with beef production contributing $24.6 billion. Of this, B.C.'s portion of the Canadian herd is about 4.5%.
While it is very important that we recognize the economic input of the beef industry, consideration also must be given to the contribution made by producers who are the stewards of the land. In B.C., beef production utilizes about 85% of the available agricultural land base of 25 million hectares. Society depends on clean environment and fresh water. As long-term stewards of the land, our producers continue to bear this responsibility.
Regional differences also need to be a focal point. While we recognize and realize that Growing Forward 2 is being designed as a federal program with provincial and territorial partnerships, it needs to be understood that regional differences prohibit a one-size-fits-all program. Ranching in B.C., for example, presents unique challenges and benefits that distinguish it from the Prairies. Programs need to have enough flexibility to enable a province or territory the ability to tailor programs to adapt and compensate for these differences.
In some of our requests for Growing Forward 2, these are some of the things we feel need to be looked at under environment, animal health, and on-farm food safety program investment. Research and development of programs designed to protect the health of the Canadian herd as well as on-farm food safety programs and environmental protection and enhancement are important for the new Growing Forward. However, research is not enough. Programs need to provide the opportunity to be implemented in a cost-effective manner as well.
Farmers and ranchers are responsible for being caretakers of a large part of Canada's lands. Resources for conservation programming and management tools need to be established so that ranchers have a better ability to continue to maintain and enhance the grassland's ecosystems as well as improve biodiversity, conservation, and wildlife habitat. More and more the public is demanding environmentally sustainable food production, and there is no doubt that much of the responsibility to meet the demand falls on the producer. However, the public must be prepared to compensate these producers for financial losses caused by wildlife.
Incentives for best management practices need to be rewarded, not taxed. B.C. currently has a carbon tax, but no other province has, and there's no incentive for sequestration. Taxes imposed in one province and not in others create disparities in costs of production, which create competitive issues. We feel very strongly that this is where the research and the programs in carbon initiatives need to be closely looked at in a combined effort on a national basis as we go forward.
Environment, clean water, on-farm food safety, and animal welfare practices in Canada are marketable assets for trade and need to have sufficient resources to utilize in foreign and domestic markets.
The accessibility to funds needs to be simple. Currently, Growing Forward programs are often so restrictive that they are not used efficiently or meaningfully. There needs to be less red tape and more common sense applied.
Multi-year funding for projects and programs needs to be applied. When budgetary deadlines are imposed, projects do not reap the same benefits for industry. The value of the project cannot be jeopardized by having to meet a deadline that will restrict its outcome. Multi-year funding needs to be available, especially for research and AgriFlex-style initiatives.
On investment in research and regulatory improvements and market development, we have three points that we'd like to put forward.
Number one, research funding must be included as part of the next Growing Forward initiative. A national checkoff study conducted in March 2010 showed that for every dollar invested in research, there is a $46 return. Many of the present Growing Forward criteria impose reporting timelines that dictate research rather than the project carrying out the most important work. Increased flexibility could ensure that the research is able to be conducted in a seamless manner.
Regulations are one aspect of our industry that are necessary to ensure the safety and marketability of our product, but they need to be implemented with great care and consideration. In the past we have seen how creating and implementing regulations that are more onerous than those in other countries and jurisdictions limit our competitiveness. To compete in both domestic and world markets, we must be careful not to put ourselves in a position through regulations that limit our competitiveness. It is easier to create a regulation than to change or eliminate it, and therefore science and common sense must dictate any implementation.
Market development, both foreign and domestic, requires coordinated and cooperative collaboration. Government needs to continue its aggressive role in opening markets and remain diligent in negotiating meaningful access with minimal restrictions and regulations based on science, not politics. Once access to markets is available, industry has the ability to expand on these, but often resources are a limiting factor. Trade within and outside our border is crucial for the long-term sustainability of the beef industry in Canada. Recognizing that the beef industry is a major contributor to the Canadian economy, it is in government's best interest to continue to invest in the industry's future.
In summary, when looking at how best to design the next Growing Forward, it is imperative that consideration be given to the increasing importance of food production in the coming decades. Growing populations around the world will dictate food demands to fewer nations able to produce more than they consume.
Canada needs to continue its enviable position of producing more food than we consume. Growing populations will result in fewer nations in this category. For this reason alone, agriculture will become one of the world's most sought after resources, making it an even larger economic driver for Canada. Without profitability for Canadian farmers and ranchers, foreign ownership of agricultural lands will become an increasing reality.
The programs designed through the Growing Forward initiative must create stability for those producing the food. We urge you to use common sense in national program development, reduce the red tape and regulations, and have a clear vision of where Canada wants to be as a supplier of food products throughout the world.
Government alone cannot develop these programs but must have an open relationship with industry to allow meaningful input that is both listened and adhered to.
Thank you.