Agriculture committee  No, the programs aren't working.

Agriculture committee  The bottom line is profitability. I think if statements were checked out regarding profit and income for most of the farms across Canada, you'd see that there has been pretty near zero profitability on these farms in the last five years.

Agriculture committee  I tried to get into that program or to look at that program, but we got into financial difficulty in 2005, and no bank or lending institution would look at us, so I didn't qualify.

Agriculture committee  Bev, can I help Erica out a little on the quota thing you mentioned? In Nova Scotia they've just started what I'd call a lottery. They're going to draw one producer a year to get this free quota. It's a lottery.

Agriculture committee  So your chances are very slim.

Agriculture committee  I'd like to comment that it should be open in this province, if I could get a licence. I've tried to apply for a licence and I've been turned down. It's illegal to sell raw milk in the province of Nova Scotia. If I could sell my milk for $1 to $1.10 a litre right off the farm as

Agriculture committee  Individual provinces?

Agriculture committee  On programs and debt reduction, on the interest.

Agriculture committee  Yes.

Agriculture committee  Scott, can I make a comment to this?

Agriculture committee  Scott, you said programs. I'm going to ask, what programs? Our CAIS, our NISTA, or whatever it's called, is four years behind after you pay into it. They change the wording on it every six months in different programs. You've got to be a Philadelphia lawyer to run around and find

Agriculture committee  Can I make a comment, Larry, to this?

Agriculture committee  I already said no, but I want to make a statement right now.

Agriculture committee  I will be very brief. From all the farmers I've talked to in the last five years, and I've talked to a lot of them, the Canadian government is going to sell all the farmers out. They don't care any more.

Agriculture committee  I'd like to start on that and the milk issue part of it. We get roughly 70¢ a litre at the farm gate for our milk; that's what we get per month's pay cheque. I think we're pretty near the highest in Canada, besides Newfoundland, for milk in the stores, compared to Ontario and Que