Beef Farmers of Ontario Announces New Leadership

Guelph, Ont. – The Board of Directors of the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) elected their new president and vice president last week at BFO's 60th Annual General Meeting held in Toronto. Jack Chaffe will lead the association in the year ahead as president with Craig McLaughlin serving as vice president. BFO Past President, Rob Lipsett, has stepped down from his leadership role but remains on the board this year to complete his final term as background director.  

Embarking on his eighth year on the BFO Board, Chaffe has served on the board for seven years as a feedlot director. He and his family operate a fifth-generation farm near Mitchell, Ontario, and market over 2,500-head of cattle per year through the Ontario Corn Fed Beef program. 

“As president, I look forward to mapping a road to recovery as we begin to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic and its many effects on our sector and members,” shares Jack Chaffe, BFO President. “I look forward to working with my fellow directors in the year ahead to address pressing issues that were raised during our resolutions debate this week, such as processing capacity and skilled labour, enforcement of inspection processes and regulations, transparency in beef labelling and the effectiveness of the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act to name a few.”  

Craig McLaughlin from Renfrew County will enter his sixth year on the board as eastern director and will move to the position of vice president. McLaughlin resides in Renfrew County where he operates a cow-calf and backgrounding operation. 

Three directors were re-elected to the BFO Board of Directors by voting delegates. Returning to the board in 2022 are Don Badour as cow-calf director, Joe Dickenson as feedlot director and Kim Jo Bliss as at-large director. Ron Stevenson was acclaimed to his position and returns as southern director. 

BFO's Board of Directors consists of 12 elected officials - three from the cow-calf sector, three from the feedlot sector, one from the backgrounder sector, one each representing the southern, northern and eastern regions of Ontario, and two elected at-large. Directors are elected for three-year terms on a rotating basis. 

BFO Board of Directors and staff welcomed over 300 attendees virtually at this year's AGM, including the Honourable Lisa Thompson, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In her address, Minister Thompson announced loan limits for the Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program are increasing from $500,000 to $1 million for experienced individual co-op members and up to $1.5 million for experienced corporations that participate in feeder cattle co-operatives.

This is an important program that provides affordable and accessible financing options for many younger members who represent the future of our industry. An 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 Ontario’s cattle feeding sector.

Farmer mental health and wellness was also an important focus of this year’s 60th celebration. Kaleb Dahlgren, mental health advocate and Humboldt hockey crash survivor gave a very inspiring and humbling address to attendees. The new Farmer Wellness Initiative was also highlighted by both BFO and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture who sponsored Kaleb’s address.