Agriculture Is Different Today. Our Farmers Must Still Be The World’s Most Efficient Producers, But That’s Not Enough. Today’s Farmers Must Be As Shrewd As Any MBA Grad, As Skilled As Any CEO. So, What Does That Mean For Ag Policy? Our Maggie

Q. Do you feel Canadian agriculture is losing our competitive edge, or gaining?

A. T herearechallenges.

Competitiveness is key to profitability, and Canada s agriculture
and agri-food sector is well positioned to compete.

We have a rich resource base, a skilled and educated (agricultural)
sector, and a world-class culture of innovation.

Our farmers are innovative. They have great products to sell and a
world with growing demand for them. Whatever the obstacles in their

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way, our farmers have repeatedly shown their ability to adapt and thrive.

Q. Your tenure has put much more focus on business skills of farmers. Why? Is
this strategy having impact?

A. W henweweredevelopingtheGrowingForwardagriculturalframework, we
sat down with over 3,000 stakeholders across the value chain from small
farm entrepreneurs to large producers and food processors.

Young farmers said they needed a helping hand to get into the
business. Our business development programs under Growing Forward
are helping young farmers and established farmers build the
skills and tools they need to compete.

Our new CA LA (Canadian Agricultural Loans Act) loans program,
an Economic Action Plan initiative, is now delivering what could reach

$1 billion in government-backed credit over the next five years to help
farmers make needed capital investments and transfer the farm to the
next generation.

Q. You ve been actively building trade relations. Why did you decide that was
your role? What are the largest opportunities for Canadian agriculture?

A. T here snoquestionwe vebeengettingoutontheroadalotmorethanour
predecessors.

We ve visited over a dozen countries in the past year and we re
keeping our bags packed for 2010, much to the chagrin of my family!

Early on in my tenure, we sat down with industry to target countries
of interest, and where we could get the most bang for our buck
and get those markets humming again for Canadian producers.

Our farmers want to make their money from the marketplace and

we re helping them do just that.

We ve had some good success in key markets for livestock, grains,
oilseeds and pulses in the Middle East, India, China, Hong Kong,
Africa, Russia and South America.

Canada s Economic Action Plan is reinvigorating our trade opportunities
around the globe through investments that will pay dividends
for the long term.

The trade relationships we are building for Canadian farmers
right now will deliver economic benefits to our communities for generations
to come.