Thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to come forward.
Gay Lea Foods' story is going to be a little different, I think, from that of some of the other associations that have come forward. I'm not representing an association; I am representing a singular co-op, but a co-op that lives by the same principles and the same values that certainly Frank Lowery was espousing.
Just to put it into context—and I have provided this, so I'm not going to read it to you, I'm only going to touch on some salient points—Gay Lea is Canada's second largest co-op. It's the largest co-op in Ontario. It was the eighth largest non-financial cooperative in 2010. We have 1,200 dairy farms across Canada, 3,300 members, and our members not only consist of dairy farmers but employees as well.
Our members produce some 800 million litres of milk, which is about 30% of all the milk that's processed in Ontario. Our annual revenues this year will be over $500 million. We are the fourth largest processor in Canada, based on volume. We certainly have many sites across southern Ontario.
We have 650 full-time and part-time employees. We are a major processor in a niche market. If you eat cottage cheese, sour cream, butter, or partake in the sins of aerosol whipped cream, it likely has been produced in my facilities across southern Ontario—there's just a good chance.
With all due respect, we produce the best cheese south of St. Albert.