Good afternoon, Chair and members of Parliament.

I'm Tyler Fulton, and I'm a beef producer from Manitoba. I currently serve as the vice-president of the Canadian Cattle Association, or CCA.

We're pleased to join you today to discuss our top priorities, particularly in advance of the fall economic statement. CCA's recommendations come with either low or no cost to government. However, they have a high impact for Canada's beef sector and are key to our global competitiveness, growth and continued environmental stewardship.

The focus of my remarks will be on livestock price insurance, or LPI for short. For those who aren't familiar with it, LPI offers price, currency and basis risk protection for all classes of cattle and market hogs. Cattle producers, regardless of the size of their farm or ranch, can insure a forward price for their cattle. LPI is the only program that allows producers to proactively manage their price risk, and it is particularly important for the cow-calf sector. Given the volatility of livestock markets, managing risk is critically important to producers’ long-term sustainability.

This past year, the maritime provinces came on board to offer LPI to their provincial producers. This is critical if we're going to grow the herd across Canada. Now that LPI is offered in seven provinces, we're recommending that the government introduce cost-shared premiums. This includes a sixty-forty cost-shared premium that is equal to the crop insurance program. Given a 60% premium support level and assuming a fivefold increase in producer participation, the federal and provincial governments' combined annual cost would be approximately $70 million. That's $42 million for the federal portion. This amount would offset AgriStability payments, because more producers would have been proactively managing this risk, and reduce the need for AgriRecovery dollars in addressing market disruptions.

Cattle producers face significant inequities compared to other agricultural commodities, jeopardizing both our economic viability and our capacity to deliver environmental benefits unique to cattle production.

For example, guaranteed returns through crop insurance with cost-shared premiums incentivize producers to convert valuable pasture land into cropland, directly impacting grassland ecosystems and the vital environmental services they provide. Without a more balanced approach, Canada risks losing valuable pasture land and the long-term sustainability of our beef sector. Between 2011 and 2021, 2.7 million acres of grassland and tame pasture were converted to crop production, resulting in significant declines in biodiversity, carbon sequestration and water management offered through grazing.

Federal and provincial governments, while remaining supportive, have expressed concern about LPI's long-term viability given limited uptake. In the United States, the USDA faced a similar challenge with its livestock risk protection program. However, participation rates grew substantially when premium subsidies were introduced in 2020. Now a substantial percentage of U.S. cattle production is insured and protected under their program. Providing equitable support to offset costs would place the program on a strong foundation and level the playing field.

In addition to LPI, we continue to face regulatory burdens due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, even though Canada obtained its BSE negligible risk status in 2021. To fully capitalize on this status, the beef industry, in close collaboration with the CFIA, commissioned a quantitative risk assessment to evaluate the harmonization of Canada's specified risk material, or SRM, requirements with those of the United States.

The CCA recommends that government utilize the robust scientific and economic study to expediently align SRM removal requirements in Canada with the U.S. regulations. Differences between Canada and the U.S. on SRM regulations cost the industry approximately $24 million annually, making our industry less competitive. It should be noted that recent studies have shown that our current SRM policy is the most significant barrier to investment in new small and medium-sized cattle-processing facilities.

The SRM report is very near completion, and we urge the government to commence policy and regulatory changes swiftly and ensure they are included in the government's regulatory priorities.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your questions.