I want to thank the witnesses for coming to talk to us about food policy.
Before I became a member of Parliament, I was a dairy and grain farmer for over 40 years. Some of the things I produced are seed barley and IP soybeans. We know how much crop yields have changed over the years, at least over the past 30 years. Yes, we want to protect bees and we know that the use of neonicotinoid pesticides is partially to blame for their deaths, but our government is investing a lot in research.
Mr. Carey, could you tell us about the importance of research in the seed industry?