Agriculture committee  That's a very good question, and it hits home as we work on the landscape. I am a primary producer and I am certainly aware of waste. I'm quite conscious of that part. Any of our products that are not utilized in the food system are then utilized in supplementation for livestock.

Agriculture committee  Do you wish for me to go first?

Agriculture committee  I'm getting a bit of an echo here, but I will try to work through that if I can. Transport Canada announced last year an active vessel traffic management program. It's unclear how the Government of Canada intends to improve efficiency at port. Delays at port have a cascading affect on the supply chain.

Agriculture committee  Yes. With regard to that, we need to ensure there is a competitive market and, as we move forward, any impediments to having competition for the supply of inputs need to be closely examined through the Competition Bureau. I also believe that there's an element of potential for more local processing so that we can reduce our carbon footprint on the movement of products.

Agriculture committee  In terms of railway transportation and how dependent we are on it to move our products to market, in 2019 to 2021 we exported 47 million tonnes of grain. It's anticipated that may reach 63 million tonnes by 2030. If we are to achieve those goals, we will need to be able to ensure a very time-effective transportation system.

Agriculture committee  As we have encountered a drought in western Canada, the supply of feedstocks has become quite apparent. We are getting closer to the end of the feeding season, but there are producers who are having issues acquiring alternative feed sources. We have utilized every means possible: outside sourcing of feeds, salvage crops and just utilizing anything green at a particular point in time.

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much, and good afternoon, everyone. Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for this invitation to appear before you today to discuss agriculture and the agri-food supply chain. My name is Bill Campbell, and I am currently serving as president of Keystone Agricultural Producers.