File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Western Canadian Agriculture - A Look to the Future" for an unknown audience.
Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"As the title suggests, this speech is largely a look at agriculture in Western Canada and therefore breaks from many of the familiar themes in GGR's speeches and includes several interesting statistics.
For example in 1921 the average Canadian farmer could feed 11 people. By 1981 the average farm could feed 56 people. [In 2012 The average farm in Canada produced enough food to feed 120 people every day.] The average Canadian expenditure of income on food after taxes:
1947 - 25%
1969 - 22%
1980 - 18%
The speech considers the following topics:
A. The changing Picture of Western Canadian Agriculture
- Energy Costs
- Cropping Options
- Northern Expansion
- Diversification, Intensification, Specialization
- Foreign Ownership
B. Agricultural Land Use Planning
C. Integrated Land Use Issues"