Hello Everyone, I would like to take a moment to comment on the work of the National Farmers Union, and organisation that our farm is a part of. Part of the NFU mandate is to defend Canadian Producers - and food consumers - from short sighted government policies. Last week, I was notified in a monthly newsletter about cutbacks in the Canadian Agricultural research sector. Some of these cuts are of special concern to me, so I took some time to make my position clear:
Prime Minister: It was with considerable concern that I learned of proposed cuts to AAFC, particularly its research and development. ESPECIALLY concerning are cuts that included the Organic and Regenerative Research Program at the Swift Current Research Centre and the sustainable livestock programs at Lacombe and the Nappan Research Farm. Climate change is starting to have an impact on Canadian Food Production. The next years will exponentially increase the challenges faced by food producers both big and small.
"A country that cannot feed itself . . . has few options". Prime Minister, these are your words spoken on January 20th 2026.
A civilisation that does not maintain healthy soil is doomed to fail. We NEED to learn how to regenerate our soil before we lose it. There are lessons to be learned from farmers in Australia and South Africa who have shown how to alleviate and reverse soil loss. Naturally, the Canadian context will require adaptation of these Australian/African methods. That is why we need to fund our own research into regenerative soil techniques.
As the impacts of climate change change increase, we will need to discover and or develop plant breeds that are better suited to the changing climate. For example, there are some plant varieties that I grew regularly when I started farming just15 years ago, that are no longer usable with our very hot spring seasons. I expect this trend will continue, so we will need to INCREASE our research.
Prime Minister, you are much more familiar with financial affairs than I am, so I expect you will have a better understanding of work by agricultural economists such as Dr. Richard Gray. His work has shown that for every dollar of investment in public plant breeding, there is a return of $35. I may be a farmer, but I know a good deal when I see one.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely, Bob Whitmore