Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission Members

The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission is currently comprised of a Chair and eight members.

The Chair and Commission members are private citizens who have experience working in areas such as primary production, primary and further processing, food service, food distribution and grocery retail.

Geri Kamenz
CHAIR

Geri Kamenz - Chair
  • Past President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture
  • Has worked in many capacities in the agriculture sector including the Canadian Federation of Agriculture's Environment and Science Committee; the Canadian Farm Debt Mediation Appeal Board, and the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council
Members

Elmer Buchanan
VICE-CHAIR

Elmer Buchanan - Vice Chair
  • Currently raises alpacas and angora goats
  • Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs from 1990 to 1995
  • Retired Teacher/Vice-Principal in elementary and secondary schools in Hastings County

Deborah Whale
VICE-CHAIR

Deborah Whale - Vice Chair
  • Owner/operator of Clovermead Farms, a dairy, veal and beef operation located in Wellington County
  • Past director with the Wellington Federation of Agriculture
  • Served on the Minister's Advisory Committee for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Agriculture Research Institute of Ontario and the Midwestern Ontario Co-operative Board
  • A past Chair of the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Organization
  • Board member of the Ontario Institute of Agrologists
  • Board member of the Poultry Research Council
  • Board member of the Ontario Livestock and Poultry Council

Anna Andres

Anna Andres - Member
  • Partner in a 30-acre tender fruit farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake specializing in sweet and sour cherries
  • Part-owner of Niagara Harvest, a cherry processing facility
  • Past President of the Niagara Peninsula Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association
  • Served on the Produce Arbitration Board and the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal

Jim Clark

Jim Clark - Member
  • Executive Director of the Ontario Cattle Feeders' Association from 1999 to 2003 and from 2005 to present
  • Senior Policy Advisor/Stakeholder Relations for Office of the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs from 2003 to 2005

 

Tom Richardson

Tom Richardson - Member
  • Retired from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 2004 from the position of Acting Assistant Deputy Minister for Policy. Portfolio included policy development for safety nets and farm income along with many other aspects of agriculture
  • Worked for the Treasury Board Secretariat from 1978 to 1987

 

Bette Jean Crews

 
  • Manages an 800 acre family farm, growing grains, horticulture crops, roadside market
  • Past president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture
  • Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) representative on Canadian Supply Chain Food Safety Coalition (CSCFSC), and Industry Government Advisory Committee on National Trceability (IGAC)
  • Past Chair Agriculture Adaptation Council
  • Past Chair Agricultural Management Institute
  • Winner of Farm Credit's "Rosemary Davis" award for Canadain Farm women leaders 2010.

 


For more information:
E-mail: ontariofarm.productsmarketing.omafra@ontario.ca
Author: OMAFRA Staff
Creation Date: 01 January 2000
Last Reviewed: 08 March 2013