Agriculture Committee on May 12th, 2014

[Patti Miller]

Actually canola is very beneficial to bees. We have done a lot of work as an organization. We worked with grower associations, and we worked with CropLife. We've also worked with the honey producer organizations themselves to talk about how canola interacts with the bee community and the impacts of neonics.

Canola is direct seeded into the ground, so there's no dust or any residue of neonics floating around. We've found a very vibrant dialogue between beekeepers and canola producers who talk when their beehives are next to a canola crop. If there's going to be some sort of application of products, hives are moved. It's actually a really good news story. Bees like canola and canola is good for bees.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

So there's a good partnership and it seems to be working well. On the neonics it states that you can use them and grow crops and still have a healthy population of bees, if you do it the right way.

[Patti Miller]

Yes, absolutely.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

I think I read that another challenge you have is with clubroot.

[Patti Miller]

Yes.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

As a vegetable farmer we had clubroot in cole crops and I thought those were the only ones that got clubroot—unless canola is part of the cole crop family....

On our farm the pH had to be risen and you had to have crop rotation. How are you dealing with it when you have so many acres? Is it through crop rotation? Are you looking at new varieties? How are you dealing with it, especially if you have a cold year, when clubroot seems to do better?

[Patti Miller]

It is a disease that's causing significant challenges in our industry. There's no doubt about it.

There are a number of different ways we're working with the producer community to manage it. Number one is the development of clubroot-resistant varieties. Clubroot, as you know, is a soil disease. One of the biggest things you can do is keep your soil at home, be very diligent about cleaning the equipment, and don't move it to your neighbours or to other fields. Crop rotation can be an important part of helping contain clubroot. You don't want to keep growing the same variety on the same field, over and over again, and allowing those spores to develop. There are a number of ways that we're trying to mitigate that disease.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

You don't have a clubroot-resistant variety, do you?

[Patti Miller]

There are clubroot-resistant varieties, yes.

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Good. Thank you very much.

My next question is for the forage people.

You mentioned China where you're selling timothy. A few years ago I was in Saudi Arabia at a big show. It was mostly a horse show. I was amazed at the presence of Canadian forage in the Middle East, all different types of forage, everything from pellets to.... It seems to be a big market. How is that market for you? I think I've seen forage from a mix of alfalfa and timothy they were selling at this big show in Saudi Arabia. How big of a market is the Middle East for your forages? Are they looking for different products? How are you dealing with the Middle East?

[Doug Wray]

I'll let Ron take that one. He's probably more up-to-date on that field than I am.

[Ron Pidskalny, Executive Director, Canadian Forage and Grassland Association]

Thank you, Doug.

The Middle East is a growing market for us at the moment. We have been launching trade missions to the Middle East over a long period of time. It is one of our more important markets and our exporters are definitely interested in the Middle East market.

With respect to the numbers on the economic value, at the moment, we're exporting $161 million a year in forage products, and that's outside of seed. Most of our exports are to Japan and the United States. Those are our consistently largest export destinations, but we see the Middle East as a growing area. We just had an Ontario forage mission go over to the Middle East to build some linkages for us, so we're definitely interested in seeing that market grow.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bev Shipley]

Thank you very much, Mr. Eyking.

We'll go to Mr. Zimmer, for five minutes, please.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Thank you, again, for appearing before committee.

My first question is for Patti Miller.

We heard from my colleague across the way about different markets, but for us CETA has a huge potential upside across Canada. When it comes to commodities, you can list almost any one and it has potential in Europe.

In relation to innovation and competitiveness—you said that you're looking at a 20- to 25-year goal, so you're looking far out there—how has your organization targeted the CETA marketplace with innovation, or have you yet? They do have some very specific requirements of what you have to do.

How are you specifically targeting CETA in Europe?

[Patti Miller]

We were very active in discussions leading up to the conclusion of CETA. Europe is a significant biofuel market for us, so anything we do to increase yield, we can put oil into Europe for biofuel.

As you're well aware, European consumers are not too accepting of genetically enhanced crops so the regulatory process over there is a significant challenge. We spent a good deal of time talking with regulators in Europe, and also industry colleagues in Europe, about what can be done to make sure that the regulatory environment is functioning effectively. There are a lot of regulations in place and it's very easy for approvals to get stalled, so, you block the use of technology in Canada because one of our major markets doesn't accept it.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Right.

There is obviously a discussion going back and forth because we've discussed low-level presence, and other things that we appreciate. From your perspective, have you seen any movement there toward being more receptive to the way we do things in Canada, or is it still a stalemate?

[Patti Miller]

It's still a significant challenge. There have been very interesting discussions publicly. There was one U.K. minister who advocated on behalf of genetically modified crops, which would have been practically unheard of years before, and fairly significant activists have come out in support of genetically enhanced crops now.

We haven't seen any movement on the regulatory side, but certainly the conversation is changing a bit.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

I know that canola, by design, is what it is. Are there other crops, oilseeds, for instance, that don't fall under that particular restriction that perhaps the canola growers would look at as an alternative? Are there other alternative crops that farmers could produce that would meet that demand?

[Patti Miller]

The important thing is that farmers can produce profitably. When you're looking at needing to get what we would perhaps call a conventional crop into the marketplace, the yield differences that Mr. Hoback referred to earlier would be a significant difference in profitability for farmers.

If consumers are able to pay for what it takes to grow a crop that yields a lot less and that the industry would have to have a separate pipeline for, then there are possibilities. But with the pace of population growth, that's a big challenge.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Okay, thank you.

I have some questions for the forage guys in Edmonton and Calgary.

In relation to what I was asking Patti about, with CETA and the potential it brings, my colleague spoke about the Middle East. Is your organization targeting or seeing the potential of the European marketplace, and what are you doing in terms of innovation to target that market?

[Doug Wray]

I think for us, as I said in the presentation, the forage industry is primarily used by the beef industry and the dairy industry in Canada. Where we see ourselves fitting is in making the production of beef and dairy more economical within Canada, which then would certainly benefit our efforts to export on the beef side primarily.

We've been very active working with the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and the beef value chain round table on where the forage sector fits in their dynamic. I'm a cattle rancher, and I market my forages through beef cattle, so the more productive and valuable my forages are, that just enhances the beef production side for me. Whereas many of the other commodities sell direct to the producer, our commodity sells into the production of beef, dairy, bison, sheep, etc. It's a little different fit there.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bev Shipley]

Thank you very much, Mr. Zimmer.

We'll go to Madam Raynault for five minutes, please.

[Francine Raynault, NDP, Joliette, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for contributing to our study this afternoon.

My question is for the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association representatives.

In your brief, you say, and I quote: “Dramatically reduced forage research funding has created a situation in which forage yields have not kept pace with those of annual crops, putting the livestock sector at risk.”

How do you plan to ensure that forage research is carried out, so you can keep your livestock well-fed and continue to raise cattle? Is your beef operation at risk?

[Doug Wray]

No. I'm happy to say that at today's prices, and under our current business plan and management, our beef operation looks very good. The challenge with producing forages that will support that beef industry is that we need a focused agenda on the part of industry and government to identify the key factors that will produce the most benefit to the beef and dairy industries from that forage production.

Two years ago in Calgary, the beef industry had a workshop where they identified the priority outcomes for beef research going forward. One of the four pillars of that discussion was forage productivity. Under that topic, four or five priorities that were established at that time have since then been well accepted in the research community as being the go-to objectives to produce the best outcome.

I think it takes a recognition of the value of doing the work, and then it takes a focused plan to achieve that value.

[Francine Raynault, NDP, Joliette, QC]

You also mention in your brief, “areas where the private sector has vacated the market due to lack of commercial viability”. Do you think the private sector will eventually put money into research, or has that aspect ground to a halt?