Thank you very much.
If we don't have sustainable agriculture practices, we won't have agriculture, quite simply. We have to make sure we do this, and we have to make sure we do it by expanding the production on the same amount of land. That's what we have to do. That is of course, why, for example, we invested $27 million in the agricultural greenhouse gases program. It's so important.
We also invested $100 million, as I indicated, in agriculture research. Just what happens in agriculture research? Quite simply, it puts billions of dollars into the pockets of farmers. Canola alone is a prime example: it was agriculture and agrifood scientists who discovered this seed. That's just one small example of what can take place when you put the proper funding into research. We will continue, hopefully, to put in more. We have $25 million to adopt clean technology in agriculture.
Then there's precision agriculture. I'd say that when I farmed, I wasted some money. I put more fertilizer on in areas than I should have. Precision agriculture makes sure that what's put in the soil is used by the plant. That puts more money in the pockets of farmers, and it also is very important to the environment and to the soil.
These are the kinds of things that we have done, and there's no end.... For example, out in western Canada in the areas where they graze the cattle all winter, they grow a crop, they cut it down, and they feed the stock as they move the fence along. What they've saved on their environmental footprint is amazing. I think we increased our beef production by 50% and reduced our environmental footprint by 30%.
These are the kinds of things you have to do. We'll continue to work with farmers. Farmers are innovative. Quite simply, if you're not innovative, you won't stay in farming very long. That's simply how it is. The government is trying to make sure that we provide the funding in order to help farmers innovate.