Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members. I am grateful for the opportunity to appear before this committee.
My name is Gunter Jochum. I farm about 20 minutes west of Winnipeg, with my wife and daughter. I'm also president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
We are a volunteer-based farm advocacy organization dedicated to developing ag policy solutions that strengthen the profitability and sustainability of farming and the ag industry. Our members grow grain, which ultimately will be turned into food. In times of supply chain disruption, war and economic instability, our goal of maximizing grain production for food is in the national interest and the international interest.
The COVID years were the biggest business challenge that I and farmers of my generation have ever faced, and the effects are lingering. Policies around COVID cost us workers and disrupted transportation. They have created food cost inflation the likes of which we have not seen in 40 years. That inflation is hurting low-income Canadians. The effects on low-income people globally will be disastrous.
However, we are farmers. We are used to challenges. In fact, we worry about and plan for worst-case scenarios every single year. Our goal is simple: produce more grain year after year in the most efficient way we can. The more grain we produce, the more grain gets turned into food and the lower the cost to consumers. It's very simple arithmetic.
The federal government's stated goal is to increase Canadian food exports by $75 billion a year by the year 2025. The Barton report also called for less regulation in the ag sector, and we support that.
Instead, the government has implemented policy actions, such as the carbon tax, that make our inputs more expensive. At the current rate, the tax is costing my farm about $40,000. However, the government wants to increase the tax, which would cost my farm a whopping $136,000 per year by 2030. This will jeopardize the viability and sustainability of my farm.
There is a proposed policy that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizer by 30% by the year 2030—an ambitious goal indeed. The government has stated that it's a voluntary goal. However, they have also said that not meeting this target is not an option. Various scientists have stated that achieving this goal utilizing efficiency methods currently available to farmers will not be possible. At best, a 14% to 15% reduction may be possible. The other 15% to 16% will have to come from reduced fertilizer use.
Fertilizer, whether it's in manure or synthetic form, is the single biggest contributor to yield. Without it, or with less of it, Canadian farmers will end up growing less, exacerbating the sustainability of farms and reducing grain for food production, thus directly increasing food insecurity in Canada and around the world, most notably among people who can least afford it.
Canadian farmers are very efficient farmers. Fertilizer is one of our most expensive crop inputs. We don't use it carelessly; it's quite the opposite. We soil-test and work with agronomists to develop crop rotations, crop plans and maps to help us precisely place fertilizer to maximize yield per nutrients used.
Will the proposed emission cut reduce greenhouse gases? Maybe in Canada, but internationally, it will only work out to approximately 0.0028% of total greenhouse gases. Is this even worth it?
If we grow less, then other countries will try to make up our shortfall. Other countries, where farmers aren't burdened with carbon taxes or greenhouse gas emission targets, will use more fertilizer to increase their yield, because Canadian farmers won't be able to compete. In turn, those countries will produce more greenhouse gases.
You are here today to discuss supply chain issues, and those are very important. We know that. Our message is that the surest way to create supply chain issues is to hobble producers and the whole ag industry with bad policy.
Our message is simple: Let us do what we do best: grow safe, sustainable, high-quality grain that feeds people. Feed people with some of the most responsibly grown food in the world. If we flood the supply chain with abundant grain, inflation slows, and the poor will benefit most. Our message to you is to let us grow our grain as well as we can.
Thank you.