Agriculture committee  I'm not sure if I'm specifically answering your question, but with the business risk management program—as mentioned in the presentation—I think with the changes to AgriStability farmers basically backed away. They didn't see value in the program. On AgriInsurance, where your crop insurance programs are in place, those have worked I think very well.

Agriculture committee  I would argue that agriculture should be viewed as a strategic investment. We heard Dominic Barton make a speech last week or the week before saying that agriculture is one of the few areas in which there is a possibility of economic growth. As a businessman, if I see some area that has potential for growth and I see other areas that have less potential, I'm going to funnel some money over to that area that has potential.

Agriculture committee  Yes, we would support that.

Agriculture committee  I think the whole infrastructure investment in rural Canada has to be looked at: roads, bridges, Internet access, and cellphone access. We've become a society now that is depending on these new technologies, but there's an inequity between urban communities and rural communities.

Agriculture committee  I'll comment on the innovation side very quickly. I mentioned in my presentation about making sure that the application process is very transparent. I think one of the complaints we heard over and over was you put in an application and then the criteria for the application seemed to change.

Agriculture committee  You talk about the balance. It depends on the type of commodity. Those producing a fairly large-base commodity have a lot more ability to put money into investments in research and innovation than those producing a smaller commodity. I think what was mentioned was taking a look at a funding model in which possibly the larger organizations would have a lower level of support.

Agriculture committee  This is almost a philosophical question. I think what you're describing, the fact that farms are getting bigger, is very real. We initially had a dairy farm. When we started milking cows, there were 75 producers in our area and now there are 13. I think it's just part of farmers adopting new technology.

Agriculture committee  I don't necessarily agree that we're going to see large corporate interests taking over the farm. I think it was mentioned earlier that something like 98% of the farms are still family-owned operations, but these family operations are a lot different than they were 20, 30, 40, or 50 years ago.

Agriculture committee  I would reiterate the importance of business planning for succession from farming. I think you have to take a look at how you transfer that asset, taking advantage of all the tax rules in place and really making sure you do it right. If you don't do the planning ahead, you're likely headed for a disaster.

Agriculture committee  Is that tight enough?

Agriculture committee  Yes, it's working well. One of the things we're running into is a lot of the farm management courses are being put on the Internet now, so it brings us back to the Internet question. Each province has taken the going forward money and used it differently with respect to farm management.

Agriculture committee  One of the other areas is taking a look at the research on the innovation side and trying to get more income from the same crops. Agriculture waste presents some opportunity for generating energy, whether it be in livestock farms or grain farms. I think we have to start looking at how we can pull more dollars out of that same acre or hectare of land.

Agriculture committee  I would support the whole paper concept, but I think you've raised a broader issue, which is that we need Internet access in rural Canada and we need it bad. Everything we go to do now is based on Internet capability. It's a matter of not only having the bandwidth but the costs.

Agriculture committee  I think we have to start looking at doing some analysis, first, of how the programs respond to different-sized farms. I know our staff have been engaged in discussions with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to see if there are ways that we can tweak the programming so that it responds to the needs of different farmers, because it may be very different if you have a very large farm versus a very small farm.

Agriculture committee  The one thing in the agricultural policy framework, I think, that's critical with the transitioning in the farming is getting outside advice from accountants and lawyers to really make sure that you have a plan in place that ensures it's viable for the young person taking over and, at the same time, ensures that there's that retirement income for the person selling the farm.