Agriculture committee  I see it fitting in perfectly well. For instance, table potatoes are being put on the table market in the U.S. Our big clients are in Boston and New York. That's where our potatoes are landing. So it makes perfect sense for us to work with the states that are supplying those markets in the U.S. as well.

Agriculture committee  Historically, yes, we've sent seed potatoes to certain markets. We're at the risk of losing those markets because other countries are more aggressive, doing more work, and signing these trade agreements with these countries. There's a lot of potential in the developing world for our table stock, our processing potatoes, and our seed potatoes.

Agriculture committee  Yes, sure.

Agriculture committee  I'd just like to comment on what was said there. I think we have a lot to look at. Take the U.S. Farm Bill; I had the opportunity to live and work in agriculture for eight years in the U.S., and I saw it first-hand. There are still a lot of people there who are taught and told repeatedly that every farmer in Canada gets a new tractor every year because we're heavily subsidized.

Agriculture committee  That's the way we have to go. That's why I wanted to make a point of that today. In the U.S. they don't have the equivalent to CFIA in potatoes. Each producing state has its own certification set-up. They don't have a national system like we do, so we're always going to be in that situation.

Agriculture committee  How can we form these groups and do these memos? I think it's the only way our industry is going to survive. The B.C. representative from United Canada has been very active and very involved. We hope this will be the solution to these problems. We have already seen evidence of the closer collaboration with our counterparts in the U.S.

Agriculture committee  Yes, I'll talk about that a bit. We've established two groups in Canada and the United States that are called United Potato Growers. It started with the U.S. group, United Potato Growers of America. United Potato Growers of Canada quickly followed them. We were established last year.

Agriculture committee  In the beginning, money is required, but this is a self-managed program. At some point, less money would be required from the federal government. I believe that funds should come from the market. We do not want government to always have to shell out for producers. However, we must start somewhere.

Agriculture committee  I think that this would be the best way to look at it. Under the self-managed programs, producers would have control over some of the funding. A similar program is needed for disaster relief, when something happens that is out of the producer's control. I think that both programs are needed and would complement each other.

Agriculture committee  Exactly.

Agriculture committee  That is why I suggested that there be a program, because we have seen the effects of establishing one. I know that this has a greater effect on the producers in the provinces; the potato wart is a problem that affects producers on Prince Edward Island. Every time something like this occurs, we are put in a difficult situation because the U.S. border could shut down immediately.

Agriculture committee  Good morning, bonjour, and thank you for allowing me this opportunity to say a few words. I'll try not to repeat everything you've heard this morning. I'd like to echo a lot of what Mr. Dykstra has already presented, but I'll try to be brief and hit some of the highlights. I wasn't too sure how to approach business risk management, because I know there's a lot of work going on now to retool the programs under that subject.