The vice-president of Dairy Farmers of Canada has levelled up to lead the organization following elections at its annual meeting Wednesday in Winnipeg.
David Wiens, who farms with his brother at Grunthal, Man., about 50 km southeast of Winnipeg, replaces Pierre Lampron, an organic dairy farmer in Quebec’s Mauricie region and DFC president since 2017.
Wiens, a director with Dairy Farmers of Manitoba since 1995 and its president since 2006, was named a director on DFC’s board in 2009 and became its vice-president in 2011.
At the time of his election as DFC president, Wiens was also chair of DFC’s proAction committee, the Canadian Dairy Research Council and the DFC committee reviewing and updating Canada’s code of practice for the care and handling of dairy cattle.
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“Our industry is at a crossroads, we face numerous challenges, but there are also opportunities which we must seize,” Wiens said in a release Wednesday.
“Dairy farmers are the first link with milk production in bringing highly nutritious dairy products to consumers. Yet, we rely on our dairy processors as key partners in the supply chain. It is in the overall sector’s interest to adopt collaborative approaches to meet the expectations of Canadians.”
DFC’s board of directors for 2023 also includes Sarah Sache (B.C.), Wim Van De Brake (Alberta), Matthew Flaman (Saskatchewan), Stefan Singer (Manitoba), Gilbert Matheson (New Brunswick), Greg Archibald (Nova Scotia) and Steve Reeves (Prince Edward Island).
Ontario is represented on the DFC board by Vicky Morrison, Mark Hamel and Don Gordon, and Quebec by Daniel Gobeil, Peter Strebel and Marcel Blais. A director representing Newfoundland and Labrador was not named Wednesday.
Lampron, who’d been on the board of Producteurs de lait du Quebec since 2000, remains present at the national ag policy level, having been named in Feburary as second vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
