Board
The CCA’s producer-elected board brings a collective experience and commitment to the national table providing the leadership necessary to set the direction to propel the industry forward. Representing nine Canadian provinces and all sectors and stages of beef production, these dedicated producers carry forward this national voice at federal and international levels on matters of importance to the industry.
To learn more about our Board Members, click on the photos.
Nathan Phinney
New Brunswick
President
Nathan became President of CCA in December 2022. He got involved initially to be part of the policy making conversations in the beef industry to bring forward perspectives from his home region, the Maritimes, and share ideas on how to improve the industry. His goals are to unify the industry from coast to coast and ensure the industry’s success for the long term.
Nathan also sat on New Brunswick Cattle Producers for nearly two decades and the Maritime Beef Council for over fifteen years. Outside of the cattle industry, he coaches minor hockey.
Learn more about Nathan’s operation and family
Nathan is the third generation on the farm that was established by his grandfather. He also works closely with his wife, who also works off farm, and their three young kids. Together, they run a backgrounding feedlot where they typically feed 1,200-1,500 head. They are in the process of transitioning to a grass backgrounding operation and contracting cattle into the feedlot market. They were part of the pilot project for the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.
One of Nathan’s main interests is health protocols for calves and ensuring good preconditioning practices. He has hosted field days on the farm with pharmaceutical companies for cow-calf producers to help teach proper practices like drug administration.
Tyler Fulton
Manitoba
Vice President
Tyler is currently CCA’s Vice President and Co-Chair of the Foreign Trade Committee. He became involved with CCA as a natural extension of his work with the Manitoba Beef Producers. He is also a member of the Domestic Agriculture Policy and Regulations Committee.
Tyler feels it is important to advocate on behalf of cattle farmers and ranchers as they play a unique role in Canadian agriculture, by using a natural landscape to grow food. Tyler hopes to grow a greater awareness and support for CCA amongst farmers and ranchers while having a positive influence on improving equity and effectiveness of Business Risk Management programs in Canada. Additionally, he aims to continue shifting the global and Canadian public perception of the cattle industry towards that of responsible stewards because cattle play an important role in enhancing sustainable food production.
Learn more about Tyler’s operation and family
Tyler is the third generation on his farm and together with his wife, Dorelle, and kids Evan and Mae, they own and operate Tyton Farm Ltd, just south of Birtle, Manitoba. They run about 600 cow-calf pairs and a small backgrounding lot that they use for their own calves. The herd is a commercial herd with influence from Simmental, Red and Black Angus, and Gelbvieh. They grow hay and corn for silage and winter grazing and have a small amount of grain production that integrates well with the cattle operation. The farm consists of about 5,500 acres of owned and rented land with most of this as tame and native pasture.
The Fultons are focused on constant improvement and are quick adopters of new technology. They are certified by Verified Beef Production Plus and are proud members of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef! Tyler is an advocate for improving soil health through the use of Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing and regenerative agriculture practices. His family is focused on managing risk and are therefore strong proponents for using forage insurance and Livestock Price Insurance (LPI).
Bob Lowe
Alberta
Past President
Bob is Past President of CCA and a member of the Environment and Foreign Trade Committees. Bob originally joined CCA because he had questions around why trade it was hard to trade interprovincially. Bob has stayed involved with CCA because the organization’s work helps move the needle on industry issues and is excellent at strategic thinking. One of his initial goals was to move the environment to the forefront and showcase the positive impact livestock have on the environment which is something we have been very successful at doing. One of Bob’s more recent goals has been to showcase to consumers and policy makers that beef is a good nutritional source of food that is sustainable. He is interested in telling the story of the industry.
Bob is also the Chair of the Canadian Cattle Foundation and Vice President of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. Bob also sat on the Alberta Cattle Feeders and was a delegate for Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) and later Chair of ABP.
Learn more about Bob’s operation and family
Bob ranches with his partner Trish and children alongside his brother and his family. Together, they operate a ranch, farm, and feedlot in southern Alberta. Bob comes from a multi-generational ranching family with both sides of his family coming to Alberta to ranch before the 1900’s.
The ranch is Verified Beef Production Plus certified, follows an Alberta Environmental Farm Plan, and uses a carbon measuring protocol to measure soil carbon. They graze cattle in the mountains in the summer and use rotational grazing for any cattle on pasture close to home.
Bob is an advocate for continual learning and took the Ranching for Profit course twice.
Jack Chaffe
Ontario
Officer at Large
Jack is a Board Member representing Ontario and was appointed to the Officer at Large position following CCA’s annual general meeting in March 2023. He is Co-Chair of the Foreign Trade Committee and a member of the Domestic Agriculture Policy and Regulations Committee. Jack got involved with CCA to ensure balance between all sectors of the industry and has goals of resolving the last of the remaining BSE regulations for Canada and aligning Canada’s Specified Risk Material (SRM) removal with the United States.
Jack is very involved in various aspects of the beef industry including currently being the President of Beef Farmers of Ontario, sitting on Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association for many years, representing Ontario at the National Beef Check-Off Agency, representing Canadian producers at the Canada Beef Marketing Committee, and representing CCA at the Canada Beef Grading Agency. Jack was also a mentor for the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders program in 2023.
Learn more about Jack, his operation, and his family
Jack’s family runs a feedlot in southern Ontario and calve out 65 cows annually. He represents the fourth generation of his farm operation and two of his sons are now involved full-time as the fifth generation. They market 3,000 head annually in their Ontario feedlot through the Ontario Corn Fed program and custom feed backgrounders and fed cattle in the western provinces as cattle owners.
They were one of the original feedlots to participate in the Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance program and were one of the pilot feedlots for the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and are still part of both programs. They are conscious of environmental stewardship and practice rotational grazing with their cow herd and use conservation or minimal tillage, They also use cover crops on their cropping land.
Jack graduated from Centralia College of Agricultural Technology in Ontario with an Agriculture Business Management Diploma. He also coached hockey for 35 years from coaching youth from 6 years olds to junior level hockey.
Kirk Jackson
Quebec
Officer at Large
Kirk represents Quebec on the board, is Co-Chair of the Food Policy Committee, and is a member of the Animal Health Committee. Kirk got involved in CCA when Les Producteurs des bovins du Quebec (PBQ) rejoined CCA. He saw the benefits of having a truly national organization and felt that both groups had a lot to offer each other. His goals on the board are to get all sectors in agriculture working together to be a more united front when working with government.
Kirk is also a member of the executive for Les Producteurs de bovins du Québec and a 4-H leader for 10 years.
Learn more about Kirk’s operation and family
Kirk is the second generation on his farm and his succession planning has allowed him to take over the majority ownership of the farm from his parents. The farm consists of 90 dairy cows and he finishes all 90 calves each year. He is currently using a beef-on-dairy breeding program, breeding his Holstein cows to Angus bulls which allows him to add more value and performance to his calves. In the future, Kirk is interested in implanting straight beef embryos in his Holstein cow to add even more value to his feedlot operation.
Kirk has a three-year diploma in Farm Management Technology
British Columbia
Renee Ardill
Renne is a Director and Board Member appointed by the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association (BCCA). She is a member of the Environment and Animal Health and Care Committees. Her goals are to work with her fellow board members to create awareness in the government and consumers about the value of cattle grazing on the environment. Additionally, she hopes to help find sensible and workable solutions to the care and transport of livestock.
Renee is a Past President of BCCA and currently President of the North Peace Cattlemen’s Association. Outside of the cattle industry, she is a Past President and long-time member of the Double H Saddle Club and served as arena director for her local rodeo.
Learn more about Renee’s operation and family
Renee’s grandparents settled in the Peace River Valley in 1920 and she is now the third generation on the ranch. She ranches with her brother Don, partner Karen McKean, and ranch hand and family friend Michelle Van Stam. Renee’s nephew Travis Winnicky and his family often help on the ranch as well.
They run a cow-calf operation with 350 mother cows and have a small purebred herd. They raise a few bulls for their own use and for sale. Their herd is mainly Hereford, and they use horned Hereford bulls. They have been selling calves through VJV auction both through the auction mart and on the satellite sale. Additionally, the ranch is Verified Beef Production Plus certified.
The ranch has wild range bounded by two rivers and good water. Renee is interested in learning about anything that improves the productivity and sustainability of the ranch.
Renee has a Bachelor of Physical Education from the University of British Columbia.
Larry Rast
Larry is a Board Member representing the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association (BCCA) and became involved with CCA as a result of his involvement with the BCCA. Larry is a member of the Food Policy and Foreign Trade Committees.
Larry hopes to learn more about how CCA advocates for cattle producers across the country and contribute to CCA’s knowledge base. In addition, he is interested in finding new ways to continue to educate the general public about the benefits of raising cattle and their role in environmental stewardship.
Learn more about Larry’s operation and family
Larry’s family runs a purebred Simmental herd of approximately 80 females called Big Rock Simmentals. They have sold breeding bulls for the past 28 years in BC and Alberta. They market their calves in Alberta while finishing a small number for farmgate sales. They grow hay for their own herd and are able to market about half of the hay they produce.
Big Rock Simmentals is VBP+ certified and they have a contract with Farmland Advantage for fencing off riparian areas, and water ways to help in protecting sensitive wetland areas. All water ways on the farm restrict cattle access and they use solar powered water pumps instead to provide water to the cattle.
Larry’s wife Charlene runs a pickle cannery, called The Pickle Patch, based on their farm on the Creston Flats. They grow most of the produce that she pickles on the farm and supply pickled products to about 30 grocery stores throughout the Kootenays. Larry and Charlene’s sons are actively helping on the farm, and they are working on a succession plan.
“My motto is, if we look after our cows the best we can, then they will look after us.”
Alberta
Graham Overguard
Graham was elected to the CCA board in 2023 representing Alberta Beef Producers and the Western Stock Growers Association (WSGA). He is a member of the Foreign Trade Committee and the Environment Committee. Graham got involved with CCA to advocate for the beef industry, the cow-calf sector, and family-run farms and ranches. His goals on the CCA board are to effect positive change for the beef industry with common sense solutions.
Graham has been on the board of directors of the WSGA since 2020 and has been President of WSGA since 2022. In 2014, Graham was elected President of the James River Community Association, a position he still holds to this day. He served on the board of directors of Friends of the Eastern Slopes from 2019 until the spring of 2023.
Learn more about Graham’s operation and family
Graham is a fifth-generation rancher from the James River area (Northwest of Sundre Alberta). While growing up, Graham was fortunate enough to work with cattle and in the field, alongside his father Dennis and grandfather George Overguard for many years.
Together with his father, Graham runs 230 commercial cow-calf pairs that are primarily Simmental-Angus cross cows, and 50 yearling heifers. Graham remains a committed and outspoken advocate for the beef industry. In particular, the cow-calf sector. He is and always will be a proud Albertan. They utilize rotational grazing and solar-powered seasonal watering systems.
Doug Roxburgh
Doug represents the Alberta Beef Producers as a Board Member and Director and is a member of the Domestic Agriculture Policy and Regulations and Foreign Trade Committees. Doug got involved in CCA to represent the interests of the next generation of producers by sharing thoughts and ideas on the industry and to help create a level of viability within the industry so the generations behind him have an industry to grow and develop in.
Doug’s goals on the CCA board are to help the cattle industry work towards creating a level of financial sustainability. He feels there is a lot of segregation within the industry and feels it is incredibly important to start to bring all groups together in the industry to work on establishing a higher level of collaboration. He hopes better collaboration will help to identify areas of change and opportunity.
Learn more about Doug’s operation and family
Doug and his wife Katie are first-generation cow-calf producers from Rimbey, Alberta. Over the past few years, their business has grown and changed to help adapt to the markets. A few years ago, they added backgrounding calves to their operation as they were able to increase their annual forage production. They currently market a group of purebred Angus bulls and females annually. Recently, their two largest areas of growth have been the addition of producing and selling commercial bred heifers each fall and farm direct beef sales. Doug’s operation is Verified Beef Production Plus and Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef certified.
Doug is a graduate of the Olds College Agriculture Production program. He now works as a Nutritional Consultant with a Western Canadian-owned and operated company, Bullseye Feeds. He does nutritional work for feedlots, commercial cow-calf producers, and purebred cattle producers.
Curtis Vander Heyden
Curtis is a Board Member representing the Alberta Beef Producers and a member of the Domestic Agriculture Policy and Regulations and Animal Health and Care Committees. He believes that being involved in the producer associations who influence and expand our regulations is pivotal for our industry to thrive. Canadian cattle producers need to have a strong voice from industry peers who have boots on the ground and understand what regulatory positives and detriments our industry faces. Curtis’ goals on the CCA board are to bring a common sense approach to the table and share his perspectives and experiences to help ensure beef industry prosperity.
Learn more about Curtis’ operation and family
Curtis feels fortunate to be a father of four beautiful kids and for unwavering support of his wife Mandy. Curtis and his three siblings, own and operate Grandview Cattle Feeders and they represent the third generation. Grandview Cattle Feeders is a finishing operation in Southern Alberta with a 1,200 head grasser operation. They strive to maintain excellent producer relationships across Western Canada and value the phenomenal quality of “what can only be Canadian Beef”. Grandview prides itself on being “Built on Ethics, Driven by Success”.
Grandview Cattle Feeders is predominantly located within the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District. They produce their own forages and have been recognized for their environmental stewardship practices in the County of Lethbridge. Grandview Cattle Feeders is also PAACO Certified under the expertise of Dr. Joyce Van Donkersgoed.
Curtis attended the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College for Agriculture Business Management and Animal Science.
Miles Wowk
Miles is a Board Member for Alberta and Co-Chair of the Animal Health and Care Committee. Additionally, Miles is a member of the Environment Committee. Miles got involved in CCA because he felt cattle producers needed a stronger voice with government especially regarding animal health and the environment. Miles’ goals on the board surround emergency preparedness, especially regarding Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and he is excited we are making some headway on that topic and collaborating with the hog industry.
Miles is also on the Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) Management Committee and North Saskatchewan Water Shed Alliance representing agriculture. He also donates his time to various charity auctions and 4-H sales.
Learn more about Miles’ operation and family
Miles is the fourth generation on the farm run by himself, his wife Melanie, and children and their partners. The farm consists of 250 red and black Simmental and red and black Angus cows. The farm is Verified Beef Production Plus and Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef certified. They make use of rotational grazing and solar-powered water pumps with a well every mile to ensure cattle always have fresh water.
Unique to their ranch, Miles’ wife Melanie is a Veterinarian which helps them greatly on the animal health front at home. They also breed 70 mares and market ranch, pleasure and team horses including exporting many to the United States.
Miles has been an auctioneer for 38 years with sales all over North America for cattle, horses, equipment and vehicles.
Jim Bowhay
Jim represents the Alberta Beef Producers as a current delegate and is a member of the CCA Domestic Agriculture Policy and Regulations committee. He has 50+ years of 4-H experience as a member, leader and a mentor and believes that communication and relationship building is extremely important. He has cultivated a strong working relationship with many different levels of municipal, provincial and Federal government officials and is known for being a community builder.
Jim has been a farmer/rancher his whole life and has a passion for the industry and its sustainability – with a focus on our youth and how we can provide them with tools to succeed while producing quality beef for our national and international markets.
Jim and his wife Nola of 36 years, continue to operate a mixed farming operation. The operation consists of commercial beef, turkeys and laying hens, currently and goats in the past. Jim has built a strong ability and passion to not only educate the public but to market his finished product “Meat”.
Jake Bueckert
Jake was elected to the CCA board in 2024 and currently sits on CCA’s Foreign Trade committee. He operates a feedlot, cow-calf and custom farming business near Warner, Alberta with his wife and 3 kids. They continue to strive for sustainable methods to improve not only their operations, but also for the community surrounding them. Building a legacy for the next generation along with gaining knowledge and developing sustainable systems are their primary goals. Jake’s hobbies include traveling, hiking, golf and skiing.
Sheila Hillmer
Sheila Hillmer is a Feedlot Account Representative for Bio Agri Mix LP. Sheila works with feedyards and is based in Southern Alberta. She also spends a significant amount of time developing and executing Learning and Development programs for customers and is an active mentor for young adults. Sheila has a passion for youth and the beef industry.
Sheila is currently a director on Alberta Beef Producers and an elected representative on Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off agency and the Canadian Cattle Association. Sheila and her family have a farming and ranching operation in Del Bonita Alberta and her two sons are beginning the process of succession in the family business. Currently she is getting certified in Coaching to further her Leadership and Development portfolio.
Saskatchewan
Ryan Beierbach
Ryan is a Director for Saskatchewan and a member of the Foreign Trade and Food Policy Committees. He sees the importance of producers giving their time to CCA and other boards to ensure the industry is successful now and in the future. Ryan’s goal on the CCA board is to have cattle production recognized as being important for environmental sustainability and hopes to see ranchers receive credit for carbon sequestered and stored in our soil. Additionally, he hopes to see fair and competitive markets for feeder and fed cattle and inputs like vaccines, antibiotics, dewormers, and fly control products.
Ryan is currently the Chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. He is also the Past President of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association and Past Chair of the Beef Cattle Research Council. Ryan is a Canadian Cattle Young Leaders (CYL) graduate and a past CYL mentor.
Learn more about Ryan’s operation and family
Ryan runs a family farm with his wife, Tania and their three teenage children Lara, Rana, and Jace. Ryan comes from a multi-generation ranching family and Ryan and Tania bought their ranch near Whitewood, Saskatchewan in 2002. The cow herd is Black Angus-based and they use Hereford and Angus bulls. They sell most of their steers on video sales and the timing depends on feed availability. They also sell bred heifers out of the yard every fall. Their Hereford-Angus black-white face heifers are in high demand and make easy-doing, productive, fertile cows.
Ryan’s family ranch is mostly farmland that they seeded to grass and fenced for cattle. They have built a lot of single-wire cross fences and utilize Adaptive Multi Pasture Grazing. They have portable solar water troughs as well as water pipelines. In the winter, they swath graze and graze standing corn, usually until sometime in March, then feed bales and silage. Their cows then calve on pasture in May and June.
Ryan’s family also runs a ranch supply and tack store on the ranch. They sell many of the inputs that they use like forage and corn seed, electric fencing, and mineral. Ryan also works as a representative for the Southern Alberta Livestock Exchange.
Lynn Grant
Lynn is a Board Member for Saskatchewan and Co-Chair of the Domestic Agriculture Committee and Chair of the Audit Committee. He is also a member of the Environment and Foreign Trade Committees. He got involved in CCA under the realization that the government needs coaching in developing policy that affects the agriculture sector and he hopes to provide the government with recommendations on good policy.
Lynn is previously a Saskatchewan Stock Growers President and a Beef Cattle Research Council Beef Research Mentorship program Mentor.
Learn more about Lynn’s operation and family
Lynn farms with his brother and some staff at Val Marie in southwestern Saskatchewan on their mixed cattle and grain farm. The herd consists of 700 mixed-breed commercial cows. The farm is Verified Beef Production Plus Certified.
Lynn is a soil health enthusiast and is interested in learning how to make initiatives taken to improve soil more profitable to encourage more producers to use environmentally sustainable practices.
Philip Lynn
Philip is a representative for the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association on the board and a member of the Animal Health and Domestic Agriculture Policy and Regulations Committees. He got involved with CCA to assist in maintaining a viable and competitive Canadian beef industry, hoping to be part of the solution to many industry issues. Philip’s goals are to allow our beef producers to be competitive within national and international markets with common sense policies and regulations.
Philip is currently on the Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association (SCFA). He is also a past District Representative and past SCFA rep on the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association. He is currently a member of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association and Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association. Additionally, he is an alumnus of the Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers Program.
Learn more about Philip’s operation and family
With a strong partnership of family and like-minded partners, Philip has a ranching, farming, and feedlot operation near Moose Jaw, SK. Philip runs a diversified operation covering all aspects of beef production from cow-calf to backgrounding and from grass cattle to finish cattle. They are also involved in grain farming and trucking. He is a third-generation beef producer and farmer and is now proud to support the next generation in their beef production and farming operations.
Beef production has always been front and centre of Philip’s interests. He feels the biggest challenge of the future is the declining knowledge of animal health in our labour force. He is really interested in how new technology will address education challenges and labour shortages in the beef industry.
Karla Hicks
Karla and her husband, Jason ranch at Parkbeg, Saskatchewan. They have a cow/calf, background and grass operation. They also finish specialized cattle and market them through their own frozen branded beef product – Bluestone Home Grown Angus Beef.
Their children and spouses are the fifth generation of Hicks to ranch and work alongside Karla and her husband. They will soon have the sixth generation with grandson Walker and two more babies on the way in 2025!
Karla is currently chair of the SK Verified Beef Production+ and a board member of the Saskatchewan Farmland Security Board. Her past experience also includes serving as a director and past chair of SK Cattle Feeders Association, Director at Large for Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, Chair of Sk Conservation Action Plan, board member of SK Angus Association, as well as many years with 4-H as a member and a Leader of the Moose Jaw 4-H Beef Club. Her most memorable time was on the Canadian Beef Export Federation before it evolved into Canada Beef with the Canadian Cattle Association. Her experience there was priceless – learning about Canada’s role internationally and sharing time with international counterparts including many from Asia. Hearing how they loved and wanted Canada’s product was heart warming to her and proved over and over again that Canadian beef producers were on the right path.
Karla and Jason have hit every major market crash, black swan and weather event possible since 1995, but in the midst of it all, they tried to find a way to work for industry and to share their resilient ranching story.
They have developed excellent working relationships with Ducks Unlimited Canada, Nature Conservancy, South of the Divide Conservation Action Program and other conservation agencies whose plans and goals align with theirs.
In 2015, Karla and her husband were humbled to receive Saskatchewan’s The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA). They always look for ways to or share awareness by volunteering their ranch for videos, tours or demos. Recently they participated in the videos the SK Cattlemen’s Association’s Dome event, sharing our ranching story and beef production with school age children. They also offer ranch tours to the University of Saskatchewan for land research projects and Beef Science tours.
Manitoba
Matthew Atkinson
Matthew Atkinson
Mike Duguid
Mike is a Board Member representing Manitoba, Co-Chair of the Environment Committee, and a member of the Animal Health Committee. Mike started with Manitoba Beef Producers and was recommended to represent them at CCA. Mike’s goals are to ensure policy benefits the whole industry.
Mike is also Vice President of Manitoba Beef Producers and Co-Chair of the Manitoba Forage and Grass Association.
Learn more about Mike’s operation and family
Mike is a second-generation farmer, working in partnership with his son and his family on their 250 head cow-calf operation. Mike is proud of his grandkids who are now the fourth generation to be involved in the farm operation. They raise and keep their own replacement heifers and precondition the rest of their calves until they are sold in January.
They utilize rotational grazing and unique cover crops each year. With Mike’s interest in soil health, the farm is also involved in a three-year General Mills program for soil health and Mike has helped answer university professor questions on soil health from a producer perspective.
Arvid Nottveit
Arvid is a Board Member elected in 2022 representing Manitoba and serves on the Food Policy and Domestic Ag Committees. He is passionate about helping producers focus on transition planning and has a special interest in business risk management.
He volunteers locally on the Manitoba Beef Producers, Homebrook-Peonan Point Council, Interlake Cattle Cooperative. Arvid also sits on his local church Council and is a volunteer firefighter. His wife and family ranch on Peonan Point as the Tribar Ranching Company.
Their 350 cow-calf operation is located on the north end of Lake Manitoba, an area that experienced a large flood in 2011. Arvid recalls many local producers coming to his assistance to help him through the disaster and sees serving on the CCA Board as a way of repaying those Manitoba producers who helped him.
Ontario
Matt Bowman
Matt is a Board Member from Ontario and a member of the Animal Health and Care and Environment Committees. His interest in helping with government advocacy and public perception, lead to his involvement with CCA. His goals on the CCA board are to make the beef industry in Canada more sustainable, in the public eye and for the producers.
Matt has sat on the Beef Farmers of Ontario Board for several years, as well as a board member for the Beef Cattle Research Council and the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency.
Learn more about Matt’s operation and family
Matt, his wife, and two grown children own and operate a mixed grain and cow-calf operation in northern Ontario. They run a herd of Charolais cross cows that calve in March and sell the weaned calves into a special calf club sale in the fall. The family farm is Verified Beef Production Plus certified. Matt’s family runs a small pick-your-own strawberry field. They also grow all the hay and forage needed for their cow herd.
Matt has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Guelph and is very interested in learning how to better integrate the cattle and cropping sectors.
Jason LeBlond
Jason is a Board Member representing Ontario and a member of the Foreign Trade, Domestic Agriculture Policy and Regulations, and Food Policy Committees. Jason wanted to represent Ontario producers at CCA and producers encouraged him to get involved. He hopes that his skills and passion for the industry can help CCA’s leadership team and staff advance policy files that are of importance to cattle producers across Canada.
Jason has been on the Beef Farmers of Ontario board for six years. Jason also sits as an Ex Officio member on the Farm and Food Care Ontario Board of Directors. He has been involved with his local Federation of Agriculture and local beef farmers group.
Learn more about Jason’s operation and family
Jason’s is a first-generation farmer, and he is grateful for his family’s support in achieving this dream. They run a commercial cow-calf operation in Chisholm Township just east of Powassan, Ontario, and market cattle at Ontario Stockyards Inc. in Cookstown. They started with four cows in 2007 and have been growing since. Jason is working on improving his pastures and fencing for future growth. Jason attributes much of his learning in the past years to his involvement in boards and learning from his peers.
Jason is a Civil Engineering Technologist graduate from Cambrian College and now works as a roads supervisor with the city of North Bay.
Craig McLaughlin
Craig McLaughlin
Quebec
Philippe Alain
Philippe represents the Les Producteurs de bovins du Québec (PBQ) and is a member of the Domestic Agriculture Policy and Regulations and Foreign Trade Committees. He got involved in CCA to better understand industry goals and various topics of interest for the benefit of the producers he represents. Philippe’s objectives on the CCA board are to advocate for the interests of all cattle producers across the country and ensure the needs of all provinces are represented.
Philippe has been involved in producer organizations for over 20 years and is currently the Vice-Chair of his provincial cattle association. He also has a long-standing involvement with L’Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA).
Learn more about Philippe’s operation and family
Philippe is the fourth generation on his cow-calf and fed cattle operation, which he runs in partnership with his family. They sell their products through farmer’s markets and direct farm beef sales. Philippe’s family farm is Verified Beef Production Plus certified. His family also runs a maple syrup operation on their farm.
In addition to farming, Philippe is an on-call fire fighter. Philippe is a diplomate from Institut de technologie agroalimentaire du Québec in the Gestion et exploitation d’entreprise agricole (Farm Business Management and Operations) program.
New Brunswick
John Schuttenbeld
John is the New Brunswick representative to the board and a member of the Animal Health and Care and Environment Committees. He was asked by his provincial organization to sit on the board and saw it as a wonderful opportunity. John’s goal is to learn more about CCA and bring some new ideas that he has learned from previous organizations that will benefit the beef industry nationally.
John currently sits on the New Brunswick Cattle Producers board. For 10 years, John was a director with Dairytown products, a butter and milk powder ingredient manufacturer, located in Sussex, New Brunswick. John is also presently a Dairy Farmers of New Brunswick representative for the New Brunswick Agriculture Alliance, as well as a representative for local rural development organizations.
Learn more about John’s operation and family
John farms with his wife Wanda and their youngest son Harrison. John’s parents immigrated from Holland, and founded the farm in the late 50’s just outside of Fredericton, New Brunswick. John’s family has a purebred Holstein dairy herd and breeds a percentage of their herd to beef bulls. They then sell their dairy-beef cross calves to a local beef farmer at fourteen days of age. Their farm is situated along the St. John River Valley where there is a mix of beef, vegetable, cranberry, strawberry, raspberry, and sod farms.
John is very excited and looks forward to working with CCA and learning more about it as a national organization and its importance in relation to our provincial counterparts.
Nova Scotia
Victor Oulton
Victor represents the Nova Scotia Cattle Producers on the board and is the Maritime Director. He is also a member of the Environment and Animal Health and Care Committees. Victor’s family has always been involved in the cattle business and his father was involved with CCA back in the 60’s. Victor ultimately got involved to ensure the cattle industry is here for the next generation. His goals are to ensure the cattle industry is the best it can be now and for the next generation moving forward. He feels it is an important economic driver for Canada and it is important we support it in every way we can.
Victor is currently the Vice President of Nova Scotia Cattle Producers. He is a past President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture and also served as a long-time board member. He is also a past President of the Canadian Hereford Association and has been involved with several different Hereford organizations. Victor has spent many years involved with the Windsor Agriculture Society and 4-H.
Learn more about Victor’s operation and family
Victor is the fourth generation on his family farm near Windsor, Nova Scotia. It was started by his great grandfather when he graduated from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. The farm is a family affair with Victor, his wife Nova Dawn and their children farming alongside his parents, and his brother and his family.
The 2,000-acre farm consists of 150 cows, mainly of Hereford and Red Angus breeds as well as some commercial cows. The Oulton’s fully finish all their calves. They have their own abattoir and sell their beef off farm with delivery to Halifax. The farm is highly diversified as they also raise chickens, sheep, deer, elk, and wild boar, and grow apples and grains. The farm is also a Verified Beef Production Plus certified farm.
Prince Edward Island
Kevin Simmons
Kevin is a Board Member representing Prince Edward Island Cattle Producers (PEICP). He is a member of the Animal Health and Care, Domestic Agriculture Policy and Regulations, and Food Policy committees. Kevin’s involvement with CCA stems from him wanting to learn more about the opportunities and challenges in the beef industry and contributing to help make some positive changes for the benefit of cattle producers.
Kevin sits as a director for the PEICP and is a past Chair for PEICP. His community involvement includes sitting on the boards of his local Co-Op and a local community pasture, and being a 4-H leader for over 20 years.
Learn more about Kevin’s operation and family
Kevin owns and operates Wilsim Farms, which was established in 1993 as a cow-calf operation with 100 head. Kevin started finishing his own calves in 1997 and it grew to a 250 head feedlot by 2003. The farm started with mixed commercial breeds and changed to mostly black breeds by 2012. He currently uses three Black Simmental Bulls and calves 65 cows in April and May with the remaining 40 cows calving in August and September. Kevin uses no barns for the cow-calf portion of his operation; only the feedlot operation uses barns. The farm has been Verified Beef Production Plus certified since the program began.
In addition to the farm, Kevin has a trucking service that specializes in delivering dairy cull cows and finished beef animals to the local beef plant on PEI. Kevin is particularly interested in sustainability, nutrition, marketing, and soil health.