Jack Chaffe to lead Beef Farmers of Ontario as new President.
By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com
After the Beef Farmers of Ontario’s (BFO) 60th Annual General Meeting on February 28, 2022, Jack Chaffe has been chosen to lead the association as President.
Craig McLaughlin will serve as its Vice President.
Rob Lipsett, the previous President, steps down, but will remain on the Board of Directors to finish his final term as Background Director.
Now in his eighth year on the Board of Directors, Chaffe has previous served the past seven years as the Feedlot Director. A fifth-generation farmer, Chaffe and his family farm near Mitchell, Ontario, and market 2,500+ head of cattle annually through the Ontario Corn Fed Beef program.
“As president, I look forward to mapping a road to recovery as we begin to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic and its many effects on our sector and members,” stated Chaffe. “I look forward to working with my fellow directors in the year ahead to address pressing issues that were raised during our resolutions debate this week, such as processing capacity and skilled labour, enforcement of inspection processes and regulations, transparency in beef labelling and the effectiveness of the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act to name a few.”
McLaughlin is from Renfrew County and enters his sixth year on the Board of Directors as the Eastern Director. He has a cow-calf and backgrounding operation.
Three directors were re-elected to the BFO Board of Directors by voting delegates. Returning to the board in 2022 are Don Badour as Cow-calf Director, Joe Dickenson as Feedlot Director and Kim Jo Bliss as At-large Director. Ron Stevenson was acclaimed to his position and returns as Southern Director.
BFO's Board of Directors consists of 12 elected officials: three from the cow-calf sector, three from the feedlot sector, one from the backgrounder sector, one each representing the southern, northern and eastern regions of Ontario, and two elected at-large. Directors are elected for a three-year term on a rotating basis.
The BFO advocates in the areas of sustainability, animal health and care, environment, food safety, and domestic and export market development. It seeks to foster a sustainable and profitable beef industry, and to continue have Ontario beef recognized as an outstanding product by consumers.
For information on the Beef Farmers of Ontario, visit https://www.ontariobeef.com.