Ontario's newest marketing board comes into effect

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

Veal farmers began paying their $4 per head checkoff fee yesterday to the newly formed Veal Farmers of Ontario organization.

But veal farmers will now be exempt from paying the checkoff fee to Beef Farmers of Ontario under the Beef Cattle Marketing Act. At the same time regulations were implemented to establish the new veal board, exemptions for veal cattle were installed in the Beef Act, a Veal Farmers of Ontario press release says.  

The organization, Ontario’s newest marketing board, came into being on April 1 through regulations under the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Act. The first board of directors, made up of eight people, was appointed by the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission for the first year of the organization’s operations.

Brian Keunen of Palmerston was elected as chair at the organization’s first board meeting Wednesday, while Chris Vervoort of Arthur was elected vice chair. Other members of the board are: Pascal Bouilly of Cambridge, Judy Dirksen of Harriston and past president of the Ontario Veal Association, Randy Drenth of Clifford, Joyce Feenstra of Belwood, Tom Kroesbergen of Ailsa Craig and Tom Oudshoorn of Auburn.

Executive director Jennifer Haley says in an April 2 press release the formation of Veal Farmers of Ontario has occurred almost 25 years after its predecessor organization, the Ontario Veal Association, was formed. That organization was incorporated in 1990, Haley says. She couldn’t be reached for comment.

At the 2014 annual meeting, veal producer delegates voted unanimously to formally dissolve the association and transfer all assets to Veal Farmers of Ontario.

Farmers voted in favour of creating Veal Farmers of Ontario during a mail-in producer vote in March 2013 conducted by the farm products marketing commission. BF