International Trade committee  I would simply add that farmers like consistency and the ability to avoid some of the market volatility. I know we're at the mercy of the weather and that's a volatile thing, but we like to be able to know that there are markets for our crop that are available to us and to explore that.

International Trade committee  It's a great question. I think that in general anytime a farmer can invest in his own operation versus sending the money out to the government side it's a positive on our end. In this case, a lot of people are doing exactly the same thing they would be doing on their farms to dry their grain, but they're having to send out cheques of $8,000, $10,000 or $20,000 to dry it down, and, as you would know, we don't have a reliable source that we could change to.

International Trade committee  I could certainly pull some numbers from our team. We have an economist on staff and our GR department as well. I know, in general, that the issue you get into with the fertilizers, especially with the tight supplies and the tariff, is that there will be some people, say in planting wheat [Technical difficulty—Editor]

International Trade committee  I would just echo what Mr. Innes said. I'm sorry, but it cut out there. I think that roughly 1% of the soybeans that are exported are currently going to Taiwan. With that being a growing market, I think there are opportunities for growth, especially here in Ontario. On our family farm, for probably about the last 30 years off and on, we have grown identity preserved beans for specialty markets, for tofu or whatever else they're looking for.

International Trade committee  I think Mr. Innes touched on it perfectly there.

International Trade committee  I would say the same. For anybody who is looking to speak with us, we're easy to get hold of and would gladly have those conversations about what we can collaboratively do together.

International Trade committee  I think, in general, the challenges we face are that we need at times the backing of government to help us with some of these. This is a perfect example of it. We see a market opportunity, but we can't find that alone as individual farmers. Sometimes, even as an association, it's hard.

International Trade committee  Thank you for the question and the comments. Mr. Innes might be able to comment as well. With some of the ones he targeted, like Vietnam and Indonesia, we've had a very strong relationship, such as with Japan in terms of food-grade soybeans and tofu production. We've been providing them what they're looking for, so sometimes it's not necessarily us growing something that we'd like to then find the market for; it's finding what the market might be looking for and then being able to produce that here in Ontario.

International Trade committee  Thank you.

International Trade committee  Thank you. My name is Brendan Byrne, and I am the chair of the Grain Farmers of Ontario. I farm corn, wheat and soybeans in Essex, close to Windsor. Thank you for inviting me to join you today to talk about the Indo-Pacific trade opportunities and what they will mean for grain farmers in Ontario.