Agriculture committee  On the mandate side, we really would like to see the 2% for biodiesel at 2010, instead of 2012. We're looking forward to being able to provide the test results to allow the government to move on that.

Agriculture committee  Yes, I think the move to the NISA-type top-up is positive. The challenge with the CAIS program has been, and I think will continue to be, how bankable it is. That's something that, hopefully, we can address in the future.

Agriculture committee  The announcement that was made in the budget was very positive. There are a number of projects that have been on the books waiting for some positive direction from a policy perspective, and I think the announcement in the budget has definitely helped that. I think one piece of t

Agriculture committee  I will speak on that personally first and then for our organization. If I look at this particular crop year, I would estimate that 40% of my production is marketed using futures already, before I plant it. I have pegged in some good prices because of some rallies that happened o

Agriculture committee  As I said, it is worth investigating. One of the challenges that may arise, because it's a cost-shared program with the provinces, is that richer provinces might be able to support a program more than others. That's what we're seeing in the regional disparity right now. If we cou

Agriculture committee  On the crop insurance question, Mr. Easter, the ten-year average is a very long average. Looking at reducing that or making it an Olympic average may be part of the solution, but looking at it to take it to a seven-year or five-year timeframe would be helpful.

Agriculture committee  From the Manitoba Canola Growers' perspective, we have not investigated pooling crop insurance with the other provinces. A broader coverage would maybe reduce the risk overall for the insurer—the Manitoba crop insurance or similar organizations in the other provinces. It would be

Agriculture committee  I'd like to address your question on transportation. From the canola growers' side, yes, a strike is one issue. Getting canola over the Rockies can be a weather concern at times, and service from the railways has not been great. Our concern is that currently we are looking at t

Agriculture committee  On the OUI, the Manitoba Canola Growers does support the position of the OUI task force to move forward with the GROU program using the OUI as an on-the-shelf, ready-to-go type of option if the GROU program is proving not to be successful. Long term, we'd like to see harmonizatio

Agriculture committee  One of the things from the crop insurance side is that it's a bankable program. It's very good, when you go to your financial institution, to try to move and put a crop into the ground. I agree with you that it is a very important program from a production perspective. There ar

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning to you and to the members of the standing committee. It's a pleasure to be here today to discuss business risk management. It is an important topic for canola growers, not only for growers in this province but also for growers across Can