The Ontario Pork Board of Directors announces that Eric Schwindt of Waterloo Region was elected as chair and John de Bruyn of Oxford County was elected as vice chair at a board meeting on April 4.

Former Ontario Pork Chair Amy Cronin and board member Bill Wymenga stepped down from the board in March, and two other board members were elected for zone one: Eric Hartemink of Elgin County and Mike Mitchell of Middlesex County. Other board members include Doug Ahrens, Chris Cossitt, Oliver Haan, Arno Schober and Teresa Van Raay.

“I look forward to working with the board on issues that impact the Ontario pork industry. Serving as chair of Ontario Pork is an opportunity to continue the momentum that we have built in advocating for the interests of pork producers and in building a modern, sustainable and vibrant pork industry in the province,” Schwindt says.

Ontario Pork represents the 1,284 farmers who market 5.39 million hogs in the province. The organization is engaged in many areas, including research, government representation, environmental issues, consumer education and food quality assurance. Ontario Pork is the first livestock commodity group in the province to set social responsibility benchmarks, demonstrating pork producers’ commitment to sustainable farming. Ontario’s pork industry “farm to fork” generates $2.7 billion in economic output and 17,015 in full-time equivalent jobs. For more information, visit Ontario Pork’s website.