Absolutely, even if you look back two generations, when it came to weed control, you plowed the land, you tilled the land, you plowed the land. Any time you had a drought, you had soil and dust flying everywhere.
I think when it comes to the realities, we need to make smart, sensible federal agriculture policies that allow farmers to be innovative and competitive on farm, because the cost of doing the things we're speaking of here is incredibly expensive. For example, the cost of a precision agriculture drill, with which when you're planting you can plant your seed right into the stubble from last year and you're not tilling it up.... You can plant your seed, which has been treated with pesticide so you're not spraying and you can apply your fertilizer at the exact same time, so one pass of diesel. The cost of that is about $600,000.
Our vice-chair is with us from central Alberta, and his farm is 5,000 acres. His fertilizer bill in 2020 was $316,000. This year it was $670,000, and he anticipates next year it will be over $700,000. As an example of that, he's being as judicious as possible with his use of that.