NOTE: Danielle will remain on the FMC Board of Directors for 2017-18

His work has garnered him the awards of Fellow of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society, the Wilson Loree Award for Excellence in Farm Business Management, and the Ontario Agricultural College Alumni Award for Excellence in Research. He was awarded a Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his contributions to Canada.

Larry holds Bachelors, Masters, and PhD degrees in agricultural economics. He was Professor and Chair in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Business at the University of Guelph. He was the founding Executive Director and subsequently CEO of the George Morris Centre, an independent think tank on agricultural issues and policies located in Guelph. He chaired a national task force on competitiveness in the agri-food sector for the federal Minister of Agriculture. He is responsible for the highly acclaimed management and industry training programs that were run by the George Morris Centre and now by Agri-Food Management Excellence. He has a substantial body of refereed and non-refereed research on economic issues in the agri-food sector.

Larry is or has been a director of Ridley Canada, Lake Erie Farms, Taps Breweries Incorporated, Big Sky Farms, Coldspring Farms and a member of advisory boards for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Agriculture and Biotechnology Division of the Saskatchewan Research Council and of Burnbrae Farms. He is also a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Jeannette farms with her husband Michel Dignard and their 5 children. Their farm consists of a 1200 acre cash crop, rabbit production, dairy farm, berry farm and apiary.

Merv started his business in fur farming in 1984 after moving to North Harbour, Placentia Bay with his wife Eileen, who accepted a teaching position there in the late 1970s. Today he owns and operates the largest silver fox farm in the world.

Merv served as President of the NL Federation of Agriculture, the NL Livestock Council and the Canadian Fox Breeders Association. During his 16 years as president of the NL Fur Breeders Association, Merv initiated and assisted the Economic Recovery Commission in developing a 5 year fur strategy for the industry. On a national level, Merv spent a number of years representing farmers on the National Policy Advisory Committee (NPAC), and was a founding member and chairperson of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC).  At the same time he headed a major initiative to establish an international marketing label for silver fox. Throughout the 1990s he continued to work at marketing and promotion of all Canadian produced fur as a director on the Canadian Majestic Marketing Inc. board, based in Toronto and New York.

Merv’s employment, educational, leadership and board experience have given him a great appreciation of the issues and challenges, as well as rural complexities, unique to all parts of Canada, providing a platform for him to advocate and facilitate on behalf of workers, communities and industries in Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the whole of Canada.