(OTTAWA)—Chicken Farmers of Canada is proud to announce the election of the 2015 Executive Committee. The elections followed the annual general meeting and the 15-member Board of Directors, made up of farmers and other stakeholders from the chicken industry, has chosen the following representatives:

Dave Janzen, re-elected as Chair, has represented British Columbia as an alternate since 2006 and has been their director since 2008. He joined the Executive committee in 2010 and first became the Chair in 2012. His family farm in Abbotsford that he and wife Jeannie started from scratch in 1981 has been home to four Janzen kids, and is right next door to the Fraser Valley dairy farm where he grew up. Dave and his family produce nearly 1 million kg each year.

Yvon Cyr, re-elected as 1st Vice-Chair, has been a chicken farmer since 1987 and also serves on the Policy Committee. He produces approximately 3.3 million kg of chicken each year on his farm near Saint-François-de-Madawaska in New Brunswick. He is part of the Westco Group, which produces 16.5 million kg of chicken per year, 1.5 million kg of turkey, 80,000 breeders, 70,000 commercial laying hens and operates one hatchery. Yvon and his wife Linda have four boys.

Benoît Fontaine, from Stanbridge Station, Quebec, was re-elected as 2nd Vice-Chair. He also participates on both the Production and the Policy Committees. He farms in the Lac Champlain area and raises 3 million kg of chicken, 100,000 ducks and 85,000 turkeys each year. A 2nd generation chicken farmer, Benoît has also been heavily involved in the Union des producteurs agricoles, the Quebec farmer organization, since 1999.

Murray Booy, from Aylmer, Ontario has been elected as the new Executive Member. He recently served five years as Chair of Chicken Farmers of Ontario, and is a member of the new Governance Committee. Murray is a 3rd generation chicken farmer, and with his wife Sherry and three kids, has worked their farm in the Aylmer area where he grew up for over 20 years. He has been involved with his provincial board since 1999, and has been a member of the CFO Executive Committee since 2004.

Chicken Farmers of Canada’s main responsibility is to ensure that Canada’s 2,700 chicken farmers produce the right amount of fresh, safe, high quality chicken to meet consumer needs. We are proud of our role in a continuing agriculture success story and over 35 years of raising the quality chicken that Canadians trust.

For more information, please contact
Marty Brett
Senior Communications Officer
(613) 566-5926
mbrett@chicken.ca