I have some statistics on soy. In our package of technical amendments, we say that soybeans represent 3.14 million acres in western Canada. Production is growing in leaps and bounds year over year. In 2016, acreage was 1.88 million. In 2015, it was 1.66 million. Other commodities, such as flax, canary seed, and buckwheat, represent a smaller acreage but are included in schedule II. Soybeans and soy products should be included as well.
Soybeans started in Ontario. They were a growing crop there, and they've since migrated to Manitoba. They've surpassed the volume of other crops. We have a certain amount of arable land in Canada. If you're growing more soybeans, it means you're growing less of something else. That something else is covered under the MRE. When you have expanded soybean acres, you have reduced acreage of other crops. Therefore, the MRE is becoming less effective for farmers because they're growing soybeans instead of these other products.
There are many uses for soybeans. They're looking at it for crushing, for turning into oil here in Canada. They're looking at doing the same for abroad. It's probably the fastest-growing crop right now in Canada and the one that holds the most potential for us. We definitely see a need to have this added to schedule II or to have some sort of process by which it can be added by regulation.