Reappointments Have Been Announced For Farm Credit Canada Board

Feb 10, 2022

Federal Agriculture Minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau, has reappointed three individuals to Farm Credit Canada’s Board of Directors.

Bertha Campbell – reappointed to a three-year term. Trained as a nurse, she and her husband operate Mull Na Beinne Farms Ltd. She has extensive experience in many areas of agriculture, and she and her husband own and operate a 2,000-acre dairy, cattle and potato operation in Prince Edward Island.

Govert Verstralen – reappointed to a three-year term. He is a former Chief Executive Officer and former President and Chief Executive Officer of Rabobank Canada. And was also responsible for business development at Rabobank, for the food and agri-food and agribusiness sectors.

Laura Donaldson – reappointed to a three-year term. Donaldson has had a career spanning more than 30 years as a respected commercial litigation and insolvency lawyer in Vancouver and Toronto, with particular expertise in representing financial institutions and governments in complex litigation.

Bibeau says Farm Credit Canada is a trusted, knowledgeable financial partner for our hard-working farmers.

"It plays a vital role by providing specialized products and services that help agricultural businesses grow, take advantage of new market opportunities, and innovate. I have no doubt that these highly qualified Canadians will assist the organization in ensuring the long-term viability of the sector.”

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.