Our Team

Region 1

Bart Rijke

Bart Rijke, a dairy farmer from Hammond, Ontario, was elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2016. He represents the producers in Ottawa-Carleton, and the counties of Glengarry, Prescott, and Russell. Rijke was elected Vice-Chair in January 2019.
 
Mr. Rijke chairs the Governance, and also serves on the Audit Committee, and the Quality Assurance Committee; as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk. He is also a DFO representative for the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee, and the P5 Supervisory Body Committee.

Mr. Rijke is a first generation dairy farmer that began farming with his wife, Antje, after moving to Canada from the Netherlands. Today, they milk 120 cows and crop 500 acres with their oldest son, Geert, and his wife, Danielle. Bart and Antje have three children.

Region 2 | Vice-Chair 

Nick Thurler 

Nick Thurler, a dairy farmer in Dundas County, Ontario, was elected 2nd Vice-Chair in January 2019. He represents milk producers in the counties of Dundas, Stormont, and the municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (except for the township of Cumberland).
 
Mr. Thurler serves on the Audit Committee, the Markets and Allocation Committee, and the Quota Committee; as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk. He is also a DFO representative for the P5 Quota Committee. Mr. Thurler also serves on the Board of Directors of Dairy Farmers of Canada.
 
Mr. Thurler is bilingual in French and English. He and his family have been in the dairy business in Ontario since moving to Canada from Switzerland in 1979. Mr. Thurler, his brother, and his two sons milk 420 cows, shipping DHA milk.

Region 3 

John Wynands

Region 4 

Adam Petherick 

Region 5 

Will Vanderhorst

Region 5 

Don Gordon

Region 6 

Bonnie Den Haan

Bonnie Den Haan, a dairy farmer from Loretto, Ontario, was elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2017. She represents milk producers in the counties of Dufferin, Peel, Simcoe, and Wellington. She previously served on the Simcoe Dairy Producer Committee.

Ms. den Haan is a BSc AGR graduate from the University of Guelph, and a graduate of the Advanced Agriculture Leadership Program, Class 13. She has also participated in the Dairy Industry Leadership Program.

Ms. den Haan serves on the Audit Committee, the Communications and Government Relations Committee, the Quality Assurance Committee, and the Research and Development Committee, as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Transportation. She is also the DFO representative for Farm and Food Care Ontario.

Ms. den Haan and her family own and operate Haanview Farm and Sheldon Creek Dairy and have been dairy farming for over 35 years. In 2016, they were awarded the Master Breeder Shield for their Haanview Holstein herd. Ms. den Haan and her husband have four children.

Region 7 

Albert Fledderus

Albert Fledderus, a dairy farmer from Lowbanks, Ontario, was elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2015. He represents milk producers in the counties of Brant, Haldimand, Halton, Niagara, Norfolk, and Wentworth.

Mr. Fledderus chairs the Quota Committee and also serves on the Organic Producer Advisory Committee, the Research and Development Committee, and the Transportation Committee, as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Transportation. He is also the DFO representative for Ontario Forage Council and serves on the Board of Directors of Dairy Farmers of Canada.

Mr. Fledderus and his family have been in the dairy business in Ontario for over 30 years and they milk 75 purebred Holsteins.

Region 8 | Chair

Murray Sherk

Murray Sherk, a dairy farmer from Plattsville, Ontario, was elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2012. He represents milk producers in the counties of Oxford, and Waterloo. Mr. Sherk was elected Chair in January 2019. He previously served as chair of the Waterloo Dairy Producer Committee, as a member of the Progressive Dairy Operators’ executive, and chaired a local church board for nine years. 

Mr. Sherk was employed as a Relationship Manager with Farm Credit Canada for 25 years, working with farmers and agribusiness owners. In addition, Mr. Sherk is trained in effective teamwork, problem solving, negotiating, sales and marketing, credit and financial analysis.

Mr. Sherk chairs the Audit Committee, and also serves on the Markets and Allocation Committee, as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk. He is also the DFO representative for the Presidents’ Council as well as a DFO representative for the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee, and the P5 Supervisory Body. Mr. Sherk is the Chair of the P5 Quota Committee, in addition to being a DFO representative on the Committee.

Mr. Sherk owns and operates a 100-cow dairy farm near Plattsville with the support of family and staff.

Region 9

Vicky Morrison

Region 10 

Henry Wydeven

Henry Wydeven, a dairy farmer from St. Mary’s, Ontario, was elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2014. He represents milk producers in the counties of Huron, and Perth. He previously served as chair of the Perth County Dairy Committee.

He previously worked as a crop insurance agent with Agri-Corp, was a counsellor for the Canadian Agriculture Skills Service under Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, and has been involved with a number of different boards including Libro Credit Union and Quadro Communications Telephone Co-operative.

Mr. Wydeven chairs the Research and Development Committee, and also serves on the Communications and Government Relations Committee, the Markets and Allocations Committee, and the Quota Committee, as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk. He is also the DFO representative for the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture Advisory Council, and the Uncontrolled Electricity Working Group.

Mr. Wydeven and his wife, Wilma, have three children, Kevin, Krista, and Janelle. He and his wife have dairy farmed since 1985 and now they milk 90 cows and run 350 acres with their son, Kevin, and his wife, Katie.

Region 11 

Mark Hamel

Mark Hamel was elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2018. He represents milk producers in the counties of Bruce and Grey.

Mark contributed to the development of the Indonesia Dairy Co-operative Initiative by travelling to Indonesia to meet with government officials and dairy representatives in the summer of 2014. Mark is a graduate of the Advanced Agriculture Leadership Program - Class 8.

Serving on the Audit Committee, Communication and Government Relations Committee, Promotions and Marketing Committee, Quota Committee and Transportation Committee, Mark is also Chair of Markets and Allocations.

Mark and his wife Cathy are partners with their son Matt (fourth generation) and daughter-in-law Larissa to operate Harmony Holsteins west of Elmwood, Ontario. Together, they milk 150 purebred Holsteins and farm 900 acres.

Mark and Cathy have three children and six grandchildren.

Region 12 | 2nd Vice-Chair

Steve Runnalls

Steve Runnalls, a dairy farmer from Thornloe, Ontario, was elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2012.  He represents milk producers in the districts of Northern Ontario, and Haliburton. He previously served on the Temiskaming Dairy Producer Committee and was on the local DHI Committee, serving as a delegate to the provincial meeting for a number of those years. He has also been involved with the local Holstein Club and has been a member of the Kerns Township Fire Department for over 20 years.

Mr. Runnalls chairs the Communications and Government Relations Committee, and also serves on the Audit Committee, the Governance Committee, the Marketing and Promotion Committee, the Quality Assurance Committee, and the Quota Committee as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk. He is the DFO representative for the Toronto Stockyards Land Development, the Milk Testing Laboratory Management Committee and a DFO representative for the P5 Raw Milk Quality Committee.
 
Mr. Runnalls and his family milk approximately 40 registered Holstein cows and grow mainly alfalfa and barley with some canola cash cropped on 800 acres, 560 workable. In addition, the family sells replacement cattle and does custom work. Mr. Runnalls is the second generation in dairy farming and the fourth generation to own the original farm.

Cheryl Smith

Patrice Dubé

Rey Moisan

Rosa Checchia

Kristin Benke

Arlene Minott