Agriculture Committee on Nov. 21st, 2013

[Brian Otto]

When you say UPOV 91 strengthens plant breeders' rights, I say that it changes the way we look at plant breeders' rights.

We often hear the argument that it threatens the ability of farmers to save their seed. It doesn't. Certainly, it preserves that right, in my understanding of UPOV 91. This is, quite frankly, a misunderstanding of the legislation we have presently, because from the people I've talked to, it's not in the 1978 agreement at all.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

You're right.

[Brian Otto]

So UPOV 91 reinforces the ability of farmers to save their seed.

I have to admit it, I'm a farmer and we're our own worst enemies. We don't want to pay royalties on anything to develop new varieties. Where UPOV 91 is going to be a benefit to farmers in Canada is that it will encourage more investment, especially by private companies, to come in and start working on breeding new varieties for Canadian farmers.

Because if you look at the background of breeding in Canada right now, it's mostly public breeding with support of producer check-offs. If companies have the ability to develop a variety in Canada and protect their rights to that variety, and collect a royalty on that, certainly, you're going to encourage private companies to step into that field, and we need that. We need more people to step in on the breeding side of things.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Okay, thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bev Shipley]

Thank you very much, Mr. Lemieux.

We'll go to Mr. Eyking, please, from the Liberal Party, for five minutes.

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

Thank you, Chair.

Thanks for coming, folks.

Can you give me a little more information on barley? You're telling me it's roughly 10 million acres, on average, that we grow. Is malt barley the barley they use only for beer? Or is it used for consumption?

[Brian Otto]

No, that would be for malt for brewers to make beer.

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

Where is the 10 million acres grown? Is it in the southern prairie provinces, is it northern? Is it spread all over? Or is it in certain soils?

[Brian Otto]

Of course, it's a well-known fact that a little over 50% of the barley is grown in Alberta. I would say almost 40%, or 38% is out of Saskatchewan. And then Manitoba grows some; so do the Maritimes. There is some grown in Quebec and some grown in the Peace River region of B.C.

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

But the lion's share is in Alberta and Saskatchewan?

[Brian Otto]

Yes.

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

And it's mostly in the northern or the southern parts of the provinces?

[Brian Otto]

I would say it's grown across both provinces, because it is a short season growing crop, so it fits very well into the more northerly regions as well as the southern regions of the provinces.

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

How does it compare to the other grains? For all the grains you grow out west, would it be 20% of all the grains, or 5%?

[Brian Otto]

I don't have an answer to that question. I could use a comparison on my farm but I don't think it would be fair because I'm in southern Alberta. I know on my farm traditionally about 20% of my acreage is in barley.

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

So where would home be for that? Would a lot of this 10 million acres be going to the States or central Canada? Do you have international markets right now?

[Brian Otto]

I would say the home for most of the barley grown in western Canada would be in the feeding industry.

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

Feeding the animals right out there.

[Brian Otto]

Yes.

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

Following up on the question, you're thinking that this barley going to Europe won't be malt barley, it will be feed barley? Or would it be more malt barley?

[Brian Otto]

No, my thinking is that it would be manufactured malt barley that would be going to Europe. The feed, the barley that would be going to Europe would be going through an animal. So what I'm saying is we're feeding that animal and that's how—

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

They feed their animals over there.

[Brian Otto]

No. Feed our animals here to ship to Europe.

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

So our barley is technically going through meat going that way. It won't be going...we won't be having boatloads of barley going to Europe.

[Brian Otto]

No.