EDITORIAL / ÉDITORIAL
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE DU PRESIDENT John Vander Wielen President / Président, Jersey Canada This year, it is my honour to serve as President for Jersey Canada. For those of you who don’t know me well, a little backstory. I was raised on a Holstein farm in Central Ontario. In 1992, Rhonda and I were married and purchased a dairy operation from Don and Freda Ahrens and the Ahrenlea Jersey herd. Last May we dispersed the herd and I continue to own in partnership a number of the animals. Over the years I have had the opportunity to be involved with several organizations locally, provincially and nationally; 3 years on the provincial executive at the Junior Farmers Association of Ontario, National 4-H Council Associate Director, past president of Jersey Ontario, and 6 years on the Board of Directors at CanWest DHI. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic things have changed not just at the farm level, but also for Jersey Canada. This year we were to host the World Jersey Cattle Bureau Tour & Annual Meeting, which of course had to be cancelled. I would like to personally thank all of the people who volunteered their time and skill to help organize this event; to the sponsors and also the producers who offered their farms to be included in the tour. Thank you all! Our office has continued to be open during the pandemic. Thank you to our staff for managing and working during this challenging and extraordinary time. They have adjusted their work schedules to not only get the work done, but to do so keeping everyone’s safety in mind. We continue to work with our indus-
try partners to provide efficient services to all of our members Recently, we reached an agreement with Holstein Canada with them to providing field services in the Maritime provinces for Jersey Canada. Natasha McKillop will continue providing services there for Holstein Canada as she has been doing and will now for Jersey Canada as well. Change is constant, and operating in a different environment means that how we do things must adapt. However, the basic principles remain the same. There are two things that I would like to see happen this year. One of those is filling the General Managers position at Jersey Canada. The other is updating our strategic plan. This will allow us to set the direction for the organization for the next 3 years. Included with this issue of the magazine you will find a copy of our Annual Report. It is usually presented at the annual meeting which this year was to have been in Quebec City in March, but like events all across the globe, had to be cancelled. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to myself, any other board members or our staff ••• Cette année, j’ai l’honneur d’être le Président de Jersey Canada. Pour ceux qui ne me connaissent pas, voici un peu mon histoire. J’ai grandi sur une ferme Holstein dans le centre de l’Ontario. En 1992, Rhonda et moi nous sommes mariés
8 JUNE / JUIN 2020 Canadian Jersey Breeder / Eleveur De Jersey Canadien
et avons acheté une ferme laitière de Don et Freda Ahrens ainsi que le troupeau Jersey Ahrenlea. En mai dernier, nous avons dispersé le troupeau et possédons toujours quelques animaux en partenariat. Au fil des ans, j’ai eu l’occasion de travailler avec plusieurs organisations tant locales, provinciales que nationales : 3 ans à l’exécutif provincial de la Junior Farmers Association of Ontario, administrateur associé au conseil 4-H national, ancien président de Jersey Ontario et 6 ans au conseil d’administration de CanWest DHI. À cause de la pandémie de covid-19, bien des choses ont changé à la ferme mais aussi pour Jersey Canada. Cette année, nous devions être l’hôte des visites et de l’assemblée annuelle du World Jersey Cattle Bureau qui, bien sûr, ont dû être annulées. J’aimerais remercier personnellement toutes les personnes qui ont donné de leur temps et de leur expertise pour aider à organiser cet événement, les commanditaires et les producteurs qui ont offert leur ferme pour les visites. Merci à tous! Notre bureau est toujours ouvert pendant la pandémie. Merci à notre personnel pour la gestion et le travail pendant ces temps difficiles et exceptionnels. Tous ont ajusté leur horaire de travail non seulement pour accomplir le travail, mais pour que chacun puisse être en sécurité. Nous continuons à travailler avec nos partenaires de l’industrie pour fournir des services efficaces à tous nos membres. Récemment, nous avons conclu une en-
