Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for the invitation to speak today.
My name is Mike Ammeter and I'm the chair of the Canadian Canola Growers Association. I farm at Sylvan Lake, Alberta, which is an hour and half north of Calgary. I grow canola, pulses, wheat and barley on approximately 1,400 acres of land.
With me today is Dave Carey, CCGA's vice-president of government and industry relations, who is based in Ottawa.
CCGA is the national organization representing Canada's 43,000 canola farmers. Canola is Canada's most widely seeded crop, generating the largest farm cash receipts of any agricultural commodity and earning farmers over $12 billion in 2021. Ninety percent of our crop is exported as seed, oil and meal. The canola sector contributes $29.9 billion to Canada's economy every year and supports over 200,000 jobs.
Canola farmers are committed to a sustainable future and play an important role in advancing our collective environmental ambitions. By 2025, canola farmers plan to reduce their fuel usage by 18% per bushel, increase land use efficiency by 40% per bushel and sequester an additional five million tonnes of CO2 using 4R nutrient stewardship practices on 90% of canola acres. They continue to safeguard the more than 2,000 beneficial insects that call canola fields and surrounding habitat home.
To reach these goals, we need all the tools in the tool box in terms of access to innovative technologies and practices that will help us continue to soften our environmental footprint while ensuring our farms remain economically sustainable and competitive.
Farmers have a proven track record of adopting innovation that benefits the environment, like conservation tillage or zero till. Over a decade ago, I personally began to practice zero till on my farm as a way to use finite resources more efficiently and to improve soil conditions. By voluntarily adopting this practice, farmers like myself have improved soil cover, sequestered carbon and reduced soil erosion risk while reducing fuel and labour requirements. In 1991, 7% of Canadian farmland was seeded with no-till practices. By 2016, this number had increased to over 60%.
To accomplish these sustainability goals and practices, the canola sector has also set a production target to reach 26 million tonnes and 52 bushels per acre of canola by 2025. Not only is this a sector goal, but it also aligns with the Government of Canada's own objective of expanding agri-food exports to $85 billion by 2025. It will be difficult to increase production given that farmers are also tasked with meeting the target of reducing absolute levels of fertilizer emissions by 30%.
The announcements to expand crush capacity domestically—adding up to an additional seven million metric tonnes of demand annually—illustrates that industry is willing to invest in Canada and the canola sector. However, they need to feel confident that the regulations in the clean fuel standard enable canola production as a feedstock for biofuel and that we can also meet our own production goals to see these investments become a reality. Agriculture clearly has a unique role to play in expanding Canada's economy, but production will need to continue to increase to meet demand.
To meet government and industry targets, farmers will need to invest in our operations—in new technologies or equipment—and potentially take risks on implementing new practices. Farmers will make these investments when they are confident in the economic stability and sustainability of their operations. Specifically, government can help facilitate this by ensuring farmers have access to predictable and reliable risk management programs, such as AgriStability and AgriInvest.
Another way to encourage farmers to invest in new technologies and practices is by supporting Bill C-234. By providing relief from carbon pricing on natural gas and propane, those dollars that would otherwise be paid by farmers can be invested in technologies that will have a positive environmental outcome. Rebates will not make up for the costs incurred by carbon pricing.
Lastly, it is vital that the government stick to science-based decision-making, especially when reviewing pest control products and associated maximum residue limits. Streamline approval processes for seed varieties where possible, so Canadian farmers can remain competitive and sustainable.
In conclusion, it's vital that the focus of sustainability be not just environmental but also economic to ensure that our collective goals are achieved. Canola farmers take pride in how we care for our natural resources. No one has more of a vested interest in the environment and in ensuring the sustainability of our farms to be able to pass them on to the next generation than we do.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear today. I look forward to questions.