We did a study just before Growing Forward 2. I'd say we consulted very widely as a committee on what was working well in Growing Forward 1 and what should we carry into Growing Forward 2. Certainly, I'd say almost from every witness we heard that the idea of investing in cost-shared initiatives like the science clusters was a definite winner in Growing Forward 1 and it should be carried into Growing Forward 2, and if possible, increase the funding, because it was working so well. We did increase the funding, a 50% increase in cost-shared initiatives. As you know, Growing Forward 2 is very robust in terms of its focus on science and innovation to make our agricultural sector more competitive.
I'm really impressed by the number you gave regarding the Canadian dairy industry and what the average cow produces. If I remember, it was 3,400 litres and now it's at 8,600 litres. I can only assume that science and innovation played a role in that.
I was talking with some farmers just the other week, and we were talking about export of Canadian technology. They were saying it wouldn't be unheard of for the average production in a herd in another country, depending on the conditions, to be 2,500 litres, which is even below where we were many moons ago. This is why they're so interested in Canadian genetics and Canadian dairy products—not products in terms of, you know what I'm talking about, cows themselves.
Can you inform the committee about some of the initiatives that have led to such tremendous milk production increases by our dairy cows over time?