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Cattlemen
Know Not to Fix What Isn’t Broken: McKillop and Hardy Re-Elected to Lead
OCA Board February
23 (Toronto) -
The OCA Board of Directors re-elected Ian McKillop,
Director from Elgin county as 2007 President of the Ontario Cattlemen’s
Association (OCA), this week. The OCA Board of Directors, representing 49
County and District Cattlemen’s Associations across Ontario, also
elected Gord Hardy as Vice-President, for a third term. McKillop and his
family operate a cow/calf to finish farm near Dutton, while Hardy operates
a feedlot near Lucan. The elections took place at the OCA Annual General
Meeting (AGM), which ended Thursday.
This
year’s AGM also included a special panel discussion entitled
“Managing Today for a Successful Tomorrow” , which included Dr.
Steve Miller of the University of Guelph, Mary Vacca of Holly Park Meat
Packers, and OCA Directors Curtis Royal, representing feedlot, and Dan
Darling representing the cow/calf sector.
After
nearly four years of struggling through the BSE crisis, panelists spoke of
their successful operations and how their actions today will ensure a
viable beef industry tomorrow.
“Since
May 2003, the future for the Canadian beef industry changed dramatically
and we, as producers, had to adapt to that change in a survival of the
fittest mode,” said McKillop in his President’s Report. “We
were forced to look at our industry differently, as it would never be the
same. The ability to alter the future of our industry is something
we must never lose if we are to remain competitive.”
Dale
Pallister (feedlot) stepped down this year, as did Roger Griffiths
(At-Large). Thus, new to the Board this year are Paul Sharpe of
Wellington
County
, who will represent the feedlot sector and Bob Gordanier of
Dufferin
County
, who was elected as Director-At-Large.
This
year’s re-elections to the Board included: Gord Hardy of Middlesex
County as Director from the South and Kim Sytsma of
Leeds
County
will continue to represent the cow/calf sector. Continuing on the board
are: Ian McKillop of Elgin County (cow/calf); John Gillespie of Waterloo
Region as Director-at-Large; Jim Martin of Manitoulin Island as Director
from the North; Dan Darling (cow/calf) of Northumberland County, John
Newman of the Ottawa District remains as Director from the East and Dianne
Booker of Haldimand Region is Director representing backgrounder
producers. Rounding out the Board of Directors are Doug Kaufman (
Oxford
) and Curtis Royal (Simcoe), representing the feedlot sector.
OCA’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; three representing geographic regions of
Ontario
and two elected on an At-Large basis. Directors are elected for three-year
terms on a rotating basis. Each year, voting delegates to the AGM elect
four members to the Board.
The
Ontario Cattlemen’s Association represents the interests of 21,000
Ontario
beef producers. After March 6, the complete 2007 OCA annual report can be
viewed on the association’s website at
www.cattle.guelph.on.ca
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For further information:
Ian McKillop, OCA President, (519) 762-6484
Dave Stewart , OCA Executive
Director, (519) 824-0334
Lianne Appleby , OCA
Communications Manager (519) 824-0334
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