AHEAD OF THE HEARD By Jack Chaffe, BFO President info@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com
My First 90 Days T
ransitioning into a new role can be exciting, humbling and daunting for many reasons. In my case, I was gratefully elected as BFO President in February, and I have been navigating the transition to my new leadership role over the last 90 days. I’ve come to understand the vulnerability that comes with establishing new relationships and the learning curve in understanding the duties and responsibilities of the BFO President. Thankfully, I was fortunate to serve the organization as vice president for the last two years under the helm of outgoing president, Rob Lipsett. My time with Rob and BFO over the last seven years have served me well, and I am looking forward to leading the organization and representing our members in the year ahead. On behalf of the BFO Board of Directors, we are extremely appreciative of Rob’s leadership over the last two years during such a difficult time for our sector and many alike. As we wrapped up our 60th annual meeting, which you can read more about on page 8, my first 90 days began. In early March, I attended the Ontario Food Summit hosted by Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Lisa Thompson. I was joined by over 125 leaders from across the food supply chain to discuss food security and strategies to strengthen our food system, and increase the competitiveness of our agriculture products. Next, I attended the Ontario Feeder Finance Annual Meeting, which returned to an in-person event in Guelph. It was nice to enjoy some good company and discussion, and celebrate some good news for the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program. On February 23, the Government of Ontario announced an increase in the loan limits from $500,000 to $1 million for individual members and $1.5 million for corporate
BFO BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2022 Jack Chaffe (Feedlot Director) - President Phone: 519-301-3034 • Email: jdchaffe@quadro.net Craig McLaughlin (Eastern Director) - Vice-President Phone: 613-504-1863 Email: cmblackhorse@gmail.com Don Badour (Cow-Calf Director) Email: don.badour@ripnet.com Don Hargrave (Cow-Calf Director) Email: dchargrave@gmail.com Jason Leblond (Cow-Calf Director) Email: jsacres5@gmail.com Rob Lipsett (Background Director) Email: lipsettrob@yahoo.ca Joe Dickenson (Feedlot Director) Email: joe@dickensonfarms.com David Millsap (Feedlot Director) Email: davidwmillsap@gmail.com Jordan Miller (Northern Director) Email: b.jordan.miller@gmail.com Ron Stevenson (Southern Director) Email: ron@metzgervet.com Jason Reid (Director-At-Large) Email: reidridgefarm@tbaytel.net Kim Jo Bliss (Director-At-Large) Email: kimjobliss@gmail.com
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members. There’s no doubt this increase in the loan limits will help ensure financing limits keep pace with the price of cattle and in turn, maintain the program’s relevancy and benefits for our cattle feeding sector here in Ontario. Later in the month, I traveled to Ottawa for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association Annual Meeting where I was appointed co-chair of the Foreign Trade Committee with CCA Past President, Bob Lowe. I was also thankful to be invited to a couple of local association meetings in Lambton and Perth. It’s nice to see our associations resuming meetings and gatherings for discussions and much-needed fellowship. We returned to the BFO office for our in-person board meetings beginning in March, and at that meeting we developed a more flexible meeting schedule to be more inclusive to all directors from across the province with respect to their travel time. We have moved to a combination of in-person and virtual meetings with some full days and some half days scheduled. I hope this flexibility will support our current directors and their time away from home, but also encourage others to think about joining the board. More recently, we’ve had meetings with our partners in the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition (fruit and vegetables, grains, pork, sheep and veal), and with Minister Thompson and Premier Ford’s office to talk about our collective request for an increase to Ontario’s Risk Management Program (RMP) as we lead into the provincial election in June. As we meet with local candidates, we continue to press that beef farmers are currently facing an unprecedented level of uncertainty,
BFO STAFF Executive Director Richard Horne • richard@ontariobeef.com Manager of Policy and Issues Thomas Brandstetter • thomas@ontariobeef.com Policy Advisor Darby Wheeler • darby@ontariobeef.com Policy Advisor Evan Chaffe • evan@ontariobeef.com Director of Communications LeaAnne Wurmli • leaanne@ontariobeef.com Manager of Public Engagement and Digital Strategy Jennifer Kyle • jennifer@ontariobeef.com Communications Specialist Bethany Storey • bethany@ontariobeef.com Market Information Coordinator Jamie Gamble • markets@ontariobeef.com
Accountant Amber McIntyre • amber@ontariobeef.com Office Manager Tammy Purdham • tammy@ontariobeef.com Manager of Producer Relations Dan Ferguson • dan@ontariobeef.com Senior Producer Relations Specialist Jaclyn Horenberg • jaclyn@ontariobeef.com Producer Relations Specialist Robert McKinlay • robert@ontariobeef.com Check-Off Inspector Chris Millar • chrism@ontariobeef.com Provincial Supervisor, Ontario Feeder Cattle and Beef Breeder Co-op Programs Cheryl Russwurm • crfeederfin@wightman.ca Water Quality Specialist Chris Attema • chris@ontariobeef.com
