Guelph, Ont. – The Board of Directors of the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) elected their new president and vice president this week at BFO's 58th Annual General Meeting held in Toronto. Rob Lipsett will lead the association in the year ahead as president with Jack Chaffe serving as vice president. BFO Past President, Joe Hill, has stepped down after completing the maximum three terms on the BFO Board of Directors.
Embarking on his seventh year on the BFO Board, Lipsett has served on the board for six years as a background director. He and his family run a 140-cow cow-calf operation near Annan, Ontario and purchase 75-100 calves to background along with their farm-born calves.
"Ontario has a vast population demanding high-quality, safe food, and the Ontario beef industry has a great story to tell to fill this demand," says Lipsett. “As president, I look forward to working with my fellow directors in the year ahead to address pressing issues, such as processing capacity, to help stabilize the industry, increase profitability for our producers, and put more Ontario beef on store shelves, menus and dinner tables across the province."
Jack Chaffe from Perth County will enter his fifth year on the board as feedlot director and will move to the position of vice president. Chaffe and his family operate a large feedlot operation near Mitchell, Ontario, and market over 2,500 head of cattle per year through the Ontario Corn Fed Beef program.
Joining the BFO Board in 2020 are Don Hargrave and David Millsap who will both serve three-year terms, and Joe Dickenson who will serve a two-year term. Hargrave resides near Maxwell where he and his family operate a 100-head cow-calf operation. He will represent the cow-calf sector, and will replace Craig McLaughlin as cow-calf director. Millsap will serve as feedlot director, and will replace Joe Hill who completed three terms on the board. Millsap and his family operate a large feedlot operation near Creemore where they finish and market 1,500 head of cattle per year through the Ontario Corn Fed Beef program. Dickenson resides near Oil Springs in Lambton County, where he operates a 70-cow birth to beef herd. He will serve as a feedlot director, replacing Mert Schneider who stepped down from the board earlier this year after completing one year of his three-year term.
Returning to the BFO Board is Craig McLaughlin, who was re-elected by voting delegates to serve as eastern director, which is a change from his first term during which he served as a cow-calf director. New BFO President, Rob Lipsett, was also acclaimed as background director.