A catalyst for adaptation, advancement and innovation within the agriculture and agri-food community.
NEWS RELEASES - 2007
Agricultural Adaptation Council
Elects 2007-2008 Board
GUELPH, ON ( February 27, 2007) – The Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) held
its 11th Annual Meeting on February 6, 2007. 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.
Since the AAC’s inception, the Council has been responsible for approving over
1,970 projects, allocating more than $145 million in funding. Projects supported
by the AAC have increased profitability, improved product quality, new
technologies and new products and markets for Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food
sector, as well as enhanced the economic viability of the province’s rural
communities.
Elections for executive positions were also held on February 6, 2007. 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
• Treasurer: Fred Wagner, Grains, Oilseeds and Specialty Crops
• Secretary: Garry Claassen, Other Commodity
The AAC is a non-profit grassroots 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.
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Agricultural Adaptation Council - Board of Directors
EXECUTIVE:
Chair: Bette Jean Crews, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Vice-Chair: Kim Turnbull, Grains Oilseeds and Specialty Crops
Treasurer: Fred Wagner, Grains, Oilseeds and Specialty Crops
Secretary: Garry Claassen, Other Commodity
BOARD MEMBERS:
Bob Bedggood, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario
Ed Dehooghe, Horticulture
Alain Delorme, Rural Life
Kristin Ego MacPhail, Youth Representative (Ontario Federation of Agriculture)
Scott Graham, Poultry
Mary Ann Hendrikx, Red Meats
George Molson, Red Meats
Jim Rickard, Horticulture
Tom Smyth, Agri-Food Processor
Gord Surgeoner, Agri Business
Lloyd Wicks, Dairy
Vacant, Agri-Food Retail
EX- OFFICIO MEMBERS:
Ezio Di Emanuele (ex-officio), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Hugh Berges (ex-officio), Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Affairs
Executive Biographies
Re-elected as Chair is Bette Jean Crews, who is one of two
representatives for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) on the AAC
Board. Bette Jean has been a member of the AAC Board since 2001 and has served
on the executive since 2003. She is currently a Vice-President for the OFA,
Secretary and Director of OnTrace Agri-Food Traceability, and has previously
served as Chair for the Agricultural Management Institute (AMI). Bette Jean and
her husband operate a 600-acre family farm comprised of grain crops, fruit and
vegetables and a roadside market.
Re-elected as Vice-Chair is 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 seven 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.
Re-elected as Treasurer for the AAC Board of Directors is Fred Wagner. In
February 2003, Fred joined the AAC Board of Directors as a Grains, Oilseeds and
Specialty Crops sector 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) and operates a 1,500 acre cash
crop farm near Kitchener.
Elected as Secretary for the AAC Board of Directors is Garry Claassen. In
2005, Garry joined the Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) Board of Directors
as the Other Commodities sector representative. Garry’s agriculture and agri-food
industry experience includes several positions related to the goat industry. He
is a Director of Mornington Heritage Cheese and Dairy Co-operative Inc.,
President of the Ontario Goat Breeders Association (OGBA) and Director of the
Canadian National Goat Federation (CNGF). Garry’s involvement with the OGBA has
led him to positions on several other boards including the Canada-Ontario
Research and Development Program Red Meat Sector Committee and the Ontario
Livestock and Poultry Council.
For more information contact:
Nadine Buitenhuis
Communications Manager
Agricultural Adaptation Council
Phone: (519) 822-7554
Fax: (519) 822-6248
E-mail: nbuitenhuis@adaptcouncil.org
