Mr. Chair, the member who just spoke I do not think worked on a farm. Yet he seemed to think that he knew everything about farming.
I grew up working on a farm. I worked for a farmer by the name of Jack Gilchrist who was a good Liberal. He had the International Plowing Match on his farm in 1968.
We have a farm in Wellington county just a mile down the road from where I grew up. In my riding of Wellington—Halton Hills the first Herefords were introduced to Canada in the 1860s in Puslinch township. The first square bailer was used in Canada, the first Angus cattle were introduced. We have the world famous University of Guelph research farms in Arkell and the Elora research station.
However, farming, and by farming I mean traditional agricultural, is in real trouble in our country. When I was growing up, the bank barns were full, the fences were up and the livestock were in the barns. Every barn was full and every field was full.
Now when I drive through my riding, half the barns are either falling apart or have been torn down. The fences are falling apart. The family farm is literally dying. As a matter of fact, for the first time fields are fallow this spring. Cash crop farmers are not even putting their crops in certain cases. This is the first time I have ever seen that in my lifetime.
Corn is at approximately $2.80 a bushel. It costs more to produce corn than they are selling it for. Do not rely on me for this anecdotal information. The statistics bear it out.
Between 1993 and 2004 farm income fell 18% in real terms. Between 1994 and 2000 the population of our country rose 10%. The government's agriculture policy is not working. The number of farms in Ontario has declined 10% in the last 10 or 12 years. Farming is not working in this province.
The only thing that is working in traditional agriculture and the only thing protecting the family farm is supply management.
In Wellington county we have 26,000 dairy cows. We have about 500 dairy farms. This is industry works. There are no billion dollar bailouts. There is insulation from the severe shocks that we have seen in non-supply managed industries.
Why is the government selling out supply management? It has had 10 years to deal with the issues of butter oils being used to circumvent the rules. It has had 10 years to deal with the issue of over quotas. The government is using the over quota issue to sell out the supply management industry. The time has come for us to get the Liberal government to come clean on this. Liberals are selling out this industry by stealth, little by little, not in one fell swoop. Would the parliamentary secretary care to comment on that?