GUELPH, ON – The Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) celebrated its 10th Anniversary at its Annual Meeting on February 7, 2006. Over 120 stakeholders attended the event held at the Holiday Inn, Guelph.

The AAC’s 65 member organizations elected 16 individuals to comprise the AAC Board of Directors. The AAC Board consists of 16 voting members and two non-voting ex-officio representatives from the Federal and Provincial Governments. The AAC Board of Directors represent various agricultural sectors in Ontario. All funding decisions are made by the 16 voting members. To date, AAC Directors have been responsible for approving more than 1,660 projects, allocating more than $114 million in funding from the AAC.

Elections for Executive positions were also held on February 7. The new Executive for the AAC Board is as follows:

• Chair: Bette Jean Crews, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
• Vice-Chair: Kim Turnbull, Grains Oilseeds and Specialty Crops
• Executive Member: Gord Johnson, Dairy
• Treasurer: Fred Wagner, Grains, Oilseeds and Specialty Crops
• Secretary: Alain Delorme, Rural Life

The AAC is a non-profit grass roots coalition of 65 agricultural, agri business and rural organizations dedicated to providing financial resources to assist Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food industry remain profitable, grow and maintain its economic strength. The AAC receives the majority of its funding through Ontario’s share of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s five year $255 million Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) program.


Agricultural Adaptation Council
Board of Directors
EXECUTIVE:
Chair: Bette Jean Crews, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Vice-Chair: Kim Turnbull, Grains Oilseeds and Specialty Crops
Executive Member: Gord Johnson, Dairy
Treasurer: Fred Wagner, Grains, Oilseeds and Specialty Crops
Secretary: Alain Delorme, Rural Life

BOARD MEMBERS:
Bob Bedggood, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario
Garry Claassen, Other Commodity
Dave Delchiaro, Agri-Food Retail
Judy Dirksen, Red Meats
Wayne Dorsey, Horticulture
Kristin Ego MacPhail, Youth Representative (Ontario Federation of Agriculture)
Scott Graham, Poultry
Mary-Ann Hendrikx, Red Meats
Tom Smyth, Agri-Food Processor
Jim Rickard, Horticulture
Gord Surgeoner, Agri Business

EX- OFFICIO’S:
Ezio Di Emanuele (ex-officio), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Hugh Berges (ex-officio), Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs


Executive Biographies
At the inaugural meeting of the Board, Bette Jean Crews was elected to the position of Chair, representing the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) on the AAC Board. Bette Jean is a member of the OFA executive, a regional director for Northhumberland County, and serves on several committees at the OFA. Bette Jean and her husband operate a 600-acre family farm comprised of grain crops, a road side market and an apple orchard.

Elected vice-chair was Kim Turnbull, who is one of two representatives for the Grains, Oilseeds and Specialty Crops sector. Kim has been a member of the AAC Board for the past six years, and has served on the executive since 2004. He has been the District 6 (Haldimand, Norfolk and Niagara counties) director of the Ontario Soybean Growers since 1998. Kim has also been a director of ACC Farmers Financial since 1998.

Elected as the treasurer for the AAC Board of Directors is Fred Wagner. In February 2003, Fred joined the Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) Board of Directors as a grains and oilseeds representative. Fred has been an active board member of the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture since 1989, an Ontario Corn Producers Association (OCPA) region 5 director since 1996, and has served on the AGCare Board for several years. Fred represented the United Co-operatives of Ontario, the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture and the OCPA on the Ontario Federation of Agriculture Board. He is currently on the Executive of the Agricultural Commodity Corporation (ACC – Farmers Financial) representing OCPA and operates a 1,500 acre cash crop farm near Kitchener.

Gord Johnson, the representative from the Dairy sector is the newly elected executive member. Gord operates a 470 acre dairy farm with his wife Marilyn, son Chris and his wife Leslie. Gord’s professional accomplishments include sitting on the Chesterville and District Agricultural Society Board of Directors, the Dundas County Milk Producers Committee, the Ontario Farm Safety Association, as well as serving on the Dairy Farmers of Ontario Board for 12 years.

Elected as the Secretary for the AAC Board of Directors is Alain Delorme. Alain joined the AAC Board of Directors in 2001. Alain received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy from McGill University. He was general manager of l’Union des cultivateurs franco-ontariens in 2002-2003, and ran a dairy operation near Wendover, Ontario until 2001. His involvement with l’Union des cultivateurs franco-ontariens has seen him serve as a Board Member, Vice-Chair and Chair. Alain has also served as a member of the Provincial Nutrient Management Advisory Committee.

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Nadine Buitenhuis
Communications Coordinator
Agricultural Adaptation Council
Phone: 519-822-7554 Fax: 519-822-6248
E-mail: nbuitenhuis@adaptcouncil.org
Website: www.adaptcouncil.org