Agriculture committee  I would echo that comment. I am very seriously concerned about our competitive position. I have a very quick example. Over the last 10 years, the average annual profitability in our sector is about $18 a head. That's what cattle feeders make. We're seeing the piling on now, bec

Agriculture committee  I think that continued funding for market access development and industry's role there are critical. In addition to that, it's really about getting a handle on growing the labour pool. We have trade deals in place now. We're looking at markets opening up. The big question is, do

Agriculture committee  The impact would be huge. It's already been mentioned that in the TPP, of course, access to Japan is perhaps the crown jewel there. We believe the long-term future of our industry in terms of its future growth and sustainability rests very heavily on access to offshore markets, a

Agriculture committee  We don't have a specific formal relationship with those research centres funded by Agriculture Canada, but through presentations and conversations that occur within industry, we most certainly have a strong relationship with the researchers doing the work there. Eighteen months a

Agriculture committee  In 30 seconds or less, I think the government should be looking very closely at the recommendations contained in the workforce action plan of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council. That workforce action plan has a set of recommendations for government and for industry

Agriculture committee  Broadly speaking, I guess, government's role is in terms of conducting research on new technologies that will reduce the carbon footprint. Secondly, it would be government funding and assistance for industry to adopt those new technologies that are available. Aside from that mo

Agriculture committee  I'm not entirely sure. I know that in the cattle-feeding sector things are fairly consistent in terms of production. The only real difference is the type of feed grains being used, such as more corn in the east and more barley in the west, for example. I'm not sure how that would

Agriculture committee  Research and innovation in the beef industry are ongoing and will continue to take place. Industry certainly invests a lot of its own money in its own research, and we desire to partner with government as part of that too. There are some specific challenges around agricultural r

Agriculture committee  The whole issue of the environment and carbon, of course, is a significant concern for our sector. As was mentioned earlier this morning, in essence, producers are price-takers and, as such, it is very difficult for us to recoup or to pass on any increased costs, such as taxes, a

Agriculture committee  —so we should be looking at the other side of the equation too.

Agriculture committee  Here, I think, research is critical, as is adaptation and adoption of that new research by the industry. We were fascinated to find out about a research program under way at the Lethbridge agricultural research station, where they're working to develop a particular feed additive

Agriculture committee  That's a very good question, and it's an idea that's definitely top of mind within the industry. Your comments on China are bang on, quite frankly. I know of one cattle feeder in southern Alberta who has business partners in China. They're working to develop a new branded beef

Agriculture committee  From our perspective, a key strength of the ag policy framework is that it pulls together various initiatives, efforts, and activities under a framework. It's more than ad hoc programming. We think there's tremendous value there. It's also an excellent way for industry and govern

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much. Good morning. I'm Casey Vander Ploeg, and I serve as the manager of policy and research with the National Cattle Feeders' Association. I thank the committee for this opportunity to share our perspective on the new agricultural policy framework. The NCFA was

Agriculture committee  Yes, I can.