Mr. McCabe, thank you very much for your testimony.
We heard from Dr. Sauchyn. I don't know if you're aware of him, but he's a professor at the University of Regina. He was one of the lead authors in the federal government report on adaptation on climate change. There's a big fat chapter on agriculture, clearly indicating concerns already in the agricultural community about the impacts of climate change on your industry and the need to be considering your needs and what your role might be.
There has been an offset program, including for agricultural offsets in Alberta for quite some time. The reports back by a number of the farmers in that program are that they welcome the money. For example, a farmer who's got a 25,000-head feedlot and 800 hectare farm said he was just paid $100,000 for the fact that he did low tillage. But his comment has been that while he welcomes the money, he really questions the value of the market.
What's the feeling in your sector about these agricultural offsets? Do you think they should be in place? Do you think they should go back in time and credit those farmers who actually have done low tillage and so forth for a long time?
You spoke about actions taken already by the agricultural sector. In the federal regime, do you think they should be considering credit for actions already taken by farmers who consider the impact on the environment? What should the starting date be?