Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to start with Mr. Gilvesy.
I appreciate your testimony this morning. I think it's important that you were able to offer a bit of a unique perspective as both a farmer and a leader within an organization working with farmers to deliver ecological goods and services to Canadians.
I think that's important specifically due to the fact that we need to sustainably intensify the production of our best farmland. We need to feed both Canadians and a growing hungry population around the world. By maximizing production on our best farmland, we can allow other aspects of the farm to be used for the benefits we can derive from a natural environment. We need to do a good job of recognizing that it's “whole of farm”. It's not just the field level. You talked about some of the riparian areas along the bush lines that are maintained, and the trees planted by farmers. Again, these are the ecological goods and services delivered for the public good, which often come at a cost to farmers and landowners.
First, I'd like to ask you this: How does Canada fare in comparison to other countries and some of our international trading partners in terms of support for farmers and landowners already willing to invest and take the right actions to deliver solutions for our environment?