Agriculture committee  All I heard was that, yes, the minister has said that it is a voluntary goal. At the same time, I have also heard the minister say that not achieving a 30% reduction in emissions is not an option.

Agriculture committee  Agreed. I have heard it from a third party. I have not heard the minister herself say that. I have heard it from a journalist who asked the government what happens if we cannot reach 30% reduction. The minister or her office apparently had replied that it's not an option.

Agriculture committee  Absolutely. This year, the carbon tax alone will add about $40,000 to my farm. My farm is a very viable family farm. There's no off-farm income to supplement us, and this will really hurt. As it increases up to the year 2030, it will put my farm's sustainability in question. The

Agriculture committee  I doubt it. Farmers are very efficient as it is. This year, we had a tremendous year. The biggest contributor to yield is, of course, rain and fertilizer.

Agriculture committee  I have not heard of that study. However, others have studied it. I forget if it was Mario Tenuta out of U of M who said that with just the 4R fertilizer efficiency, we cannot gain the 30% emission reduction.

Agriculture committee  Our concerns are that rail transportation is at its limit. Both CN and CP have stated that in the past month they have transported as much grain as they have ever before, which is good to hear, but we saw what happened last year with any kind of weather disruption or strike actio

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members. I am grateful for the opportunity to appear before this committee. My name is Gunter Jochum. I farm about 20 minutes west of Winnipeg, with my wife and daughter. I'm also president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. We