Thank you, Katie.
I want to say that, on our farm, we have an opportunity to interact with a lot of new farmers and young farmers. We find that the majority of people coming into the farming system are very interested in regenerative and organic agriculture and the impact it has on our climate and human health. We have found, as organic farmers for 20 years, that there has been zero support available for us from government.
When we're working with more conventional farmers who are curious about transitioning to these practices, we find there's a fear because there's a lack of understanding around the process, and then there is knowledge that there is often a transition period. When your soil is weaning itself off a chemical agricultural program you have been using, and you are relying on biology, you have around three or four years when you could have lower yields.
Farmers are afraid to face this reduction in income, so this is an opportunity for government to come in and help folks through transition support to survive that period. Oftentimes when you look at similar programs in the EU and the United States, it's not as bad as everybody thinks. It's really shoring up the insurance, making farmers feel confident they can make it through that process.