Egg Farmers of Ontario re-elect chair, vice chair

Apr 01, 2026

Egg Farmers of Ontario re-elected Scott Helps as chair and Dan Veldman as vice chair at a special meeting held alongside the organisation’s 61st annual general meeting in Niagara Falls on March 24. Scott Brookshaw and Marcel Laviolette were also re-elected to the executive, with their new term beginning April 1, according to a press release from the organisation.

Helps, an egg farmer from Lambton County, has been on the board since 2012 and has served as chair since 2020. Veldman, an egg farmer from Oxford County, has been on the board since 2011 and has served as vice chair since 2020.

The meeting included video remarks from Ontario premier Doug Ford and in-person remarks from agriculture, food and agribusiness minister Trevor Jones.

This year’s meeting focused on consumer marketing. Natalie Rumscheidt of Egg Farmers of Canada presented on Canadian egg market trends, while Mary Spicer of the World Egg Organization shared examples of marketing and consumer engagement programmes from other countries.

Speakers also included representatives from the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission, Egg Farmers of Ontario, Egg Farmers of Canada, United Egg Producers and other industry organisations, along with researchers and programme participants. A pullet growers session was held the day prior.

During the evening banquet, Charlie Elliott of Masterfeeds was recognized for more than 45 years in the poultry feed sector, including work in education and extension and support for new poultry producers. Retiring board director Ian McFall was also recognized for five years of service.

Click here to see more...

Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.