OUR TEAM

DFO is the regulator and sole delegated authority for the marketing of milk in Ontario. DFO is also the Delegated Authority responsible for administering and enforcing the provisions of the Milk Act related to cow’s milk. Our accountability to the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness remains steadfast. Board members are elected by their fellow dairy farmers and serve for a four-year term. They typically spend one third of their working days on Dairy Farmers of Ontario-related business.

BOARD MEMBERS

REGION 1
Bart Rijke
Bart Rijke, a dairy farmer from Hammond, Ont., was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2016. He represents producers in Ottawa-Carleton (twp. of Cumberland), and the counties of Glengarry, Prescott and Russell. Mr. Rijke chairs the DFO Governance Committee, and serves on the DFO Audit, Markets and Allocation, and Quota Committees, as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk. Mr. Rijke is an Ontario Director on the Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) Board of Directors and was elected as Second Vice-President in September 2025. He also chairs the DFC Sustainability Committee. Mr. Rijke is a first-generation dairy farmer who began farming with his wife, Antje, after moving to Canada from the Netherlands. Today, they milk 150 cows and crop 800 acres with their oldest son, Geert, and his wife, Danielle. He and Antje have three children.
Ottawa-Carleton (twp. of Cumberland), Glengarry, Prescott and Russell
C:613-229-9461
E: Bart.Rijke@milk.org
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REGION 2 | 2ND VICE CHAIR
Brian Burnett
Brian Burnett, a dairy farmer from Marionville, Ont., was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2023. He represents producers in Dundas, Ottawa-Carleton (except for twp. of Cumberland) and Stormont. In January 2026, Mr. Burnett was elected as 2nd vice-chair of the DFO Board. He chairs the DFO Transportation Committee and serves on the DFO Audit and Markets and Allocation Committees, as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Transportation, P5 Supervisory Body, Quota and Transportation Committees. He also sits on the Canadian Milk Supply Management, Milk Testing Laboratory Management and Dairy Farmers of Canada Sustainability Committees. Prior to serving on the DFO board, Mr. Burnett was a dairy producer committee member and served on several farm organizations. Mr. Burnett has been in the dairy business for more than 40 years. He and his family, along with farm staff, operate Carleton Corner Farms Ltd. on 3,000 acres and milk 625 cows. He and his wife, Tracie, have one son and four daughters.
Dundas, Ottawa-Carleton (except for twp. of Cumberland), and Stormont
C:613-797-2517
E: Brian.Burnett@milk.org
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REGION 3 | VICE CHAIR
John Wynands
John Wynands, a second-generation dairy farmer from Cardinal, Ont., was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2018. He represents producers in Frontenac, Grenville, Lanark, Leeds and Renfrew. Mr. Wynands was re-elected vice-chair of the DFO Board in January 2026. He also chairs the DFO Audit Committee and serves on the DFO Governance and Markets and Allocation Committees, as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk, P5 Supervisory Body, and P5 Quota and Markets Committees. He also sits on the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee and Lactanet. Mr. Wynands graduated from the agricultural program at Kemptville College. He has a long history of leadership and service in the Canadian dairy industry, with the Grenville dairy producer committee and previously served on the Board of Directors with CanWest DHI. Gerann Holstein is a family-run farm that milks 250 cows on 1,500 acres of farmland. Gerann Holsteins was awarded a master breeder shield in 2018.
Frontenac, Grenville, Lanark, Leeds, and Renfrew
C:613-340-3749
E: John.Wynands@milk.org
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REGION 4
Adam Petherick
Adam Petherick, a dairy farmer from Campbellford, Ont., was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2020. He represents producers in Hastings, Lennox and Addington, Northumberland and Prince Edward. In his role on the DFO Board, he chairs the DFO Markets and Allocation Committee and serves on the DFO Audit, Governance Committee and Quota Committees, as well as the DFO Organic Producer Advisory Subcommittee. He also sits on the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk and P5 Quota Committee. Mr. Petherick is an Ontario director on the Dairy Farmers of Canada Board and serves on the Animal Health Canada Board of Directors. He was chair of the Northumberland County Holstein Club and was a board member of the Campbellford Seymour Agricultural Society. Mr. Petherick was a recipient of the Ontario Dairy Youth award and was selected to be the Ontario delegate for the Future Leaders Program in 2017. Mr. Petherick has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Guelph and is a seventh-generation dairy farmer at Almerson Farms Ltd., managing the business with his wife, Amy, and his parents, Evan and Marilyn. They milk 75 Holsteins and crop 400 acres of scenic land in northern Northumberland County.
Hastings, Lennox & Addington, Northumberland, and Prince Edward
C:705-653-6876
E: Adam.Petherick@milk.org
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REGION 5
Don Gordon
Don Gordon, a dairy farmer from Cannington, Ont., was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2019. He represents producers in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Durham Region, Peterborough and York. Mr. Gordon chairs the DFO Marketing and Promotions Committee and serves on the DFO Quality Assurance, Quota and Transportation Committees, as well as the DFO Research and Development Working Group. He is also on the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk and Transportation. In addition, he represents DFO on boards of the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation and the Toronto Stockyards Land Development. He has supported dairy producer committees across Ontario and was part of a dairy committee that developed Maple the Cow, a life-size milking cow exhibit. Mr. Gordon runs Gordhill Farms, a 450-acre, family-run farm, milking 75 cows with robotics.
City of Kawartha Lakes, Durham Region, Peterborough, and York
C:705-879-3586
E: Don.Gordon@milk.org
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REGION 6
George Van Kampen
George Van Kampen, a dairy farmer from Amaranth, Ont., was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2022. He represents producers in the counties of Dufferin, Peel, Simcoe and Wellington. He currently serves as chair of the Organic Producer Advisory Subcommittee. He also serves on the DFO Market and Allocation, Quality Assurance, and Marketing and Promotions Committees, as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk. He also serves on the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s Policy Advisory Council and in the Uncontrolled Electricity Working Group. Mr. Van Kampen served on the local milk committee for 18 years and has been on numerous boards and committees over the years. Mr. Van Kampen and his family have been dairy farming for more than 40 years. He and his wife have six children and 20 grandchildren.
Dufferin, Peel, Simcoe and Wellington
C:519-940-2201
E: George.VanKampen@milk.org
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REGION 7
Albert Fledderus
Albert Fledderus, a dairy farmer from Lowbanks, Ont., was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2015. He represents producers in the counties of Brant, Haldimand, Halton, Niagara, Norfolk and Wentworth. Mr. Fledderus chairs the DFO Quota Committee and the P5 Quota Committee, and serves on the DFO Audit, Markets and Allocation, and Quality Assurance Committees, as well as the Ontario Advisory Committees for Milk and Transportation. He also represents DFO on the Agriculture Adaption Council. Mr. Fledderus and his family have been in the dairy business in Ontario since 1958 and is currently milking 120 purebred Holsteins.
Brant, Haldimand, Halton, Niagara, Norfolk and Wentworth
C:905-570-2631
E: Albert.Fledderus@milk.org
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REGION 8
Pete Overdevest
Pete Overdevest, a dairy farmer from Bright, Ont., was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario in 2023. He represents producers in the counties of Waterloo and Oxford. Mr. Overdevest serves on the DFO Quota, Transportation, and Marketing and Promotions Committees. He also serves on the board of Farm & Food Care Ontario. Mr. Overdevest was on the Oxford dairy producer committee for several years and has served on other agricultural boards and committees in the past. Mr. Overdevest and his family, which includes his wife, Jodi, and five children, own Terra Nova Farms Ltd., where they milk 280 cows in five robotic milk systems on 650 acres of land.
Oxford and Waterloo
C:519–532-6077
E: Pete.Overdevest@milk.org
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REGION 9
Vicky Morrison
Vicky Morrison, a dairy farmer in Essex County, was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2020. She represents producers in Elgin, Essex, Kent, Lambton and Middlesex. Ms. Morrison chairs the DFO Quality Assurance Committee. She also serves on the DFO Marketing and Promotions Committee and Research and Development Working Group, as well as the Ontario Advisory Committee for Milk and P5 Raw Milk Quality Committee. She is an Ontario Director on the Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) Board, chairs the DFC proAction® Committee and sits on the Livestock Medicines Advisory Committee and the Canadian Dairy Research Council. Ms. Morrison previously served as chair of Essex-Kent dairy producer committee and is active on the Essex-Kent Holstein club committee, as well as being an Essex County 4-H dairy club leader. Before moving to Canada in 2007, Ms. Morrison was a lecturer in dairy herd management at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE Greenmount Campus) in Northern Ireland. Ms. Morrison has completed the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (Class 19) offered by the Rural Ontario Institute. Ms. Morrison, along with her family and staff, milks around 200 registered Holsteins and farms on 400 acres.
Elgin, Essex, Kent, Lambton, and Middlesex
C:519-320-9249
E: Vicky.Morrison@milk.org
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REGION 10
Derek Van Dieten
Derek Van Dieten, a dairy farmer from Seaforth, Ont., was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2025. He represents producers in the counties of Huron and Perth. Mr. Van Dieten serves on the DFO Audit and Governance Committees, Organic Producer Advisory Subcommittee, and Research and Development Working Group. He also represents DFO on the Ontario Veal Advisory Committee. Alongside his family and a dedicated team of 25 employees, Mr. Van Dieten operates two farms – a conventional one in Seaforth, Ont. and an organic operation in Ethel, Ont. and a food and dairy distribution company in Wingham, Ont. Mr. Van Dieten was a recipient of the Ontario Dairy Youth award in 2016 and has received numerous accolades for herd management, lowest somatic cell counts and individual cow production. He has an Honours degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Guelph. Mr. Van Dieten is a first-generation dairy farmer at Van Dieten Dairy Farms and manages the business with his wife, Jen, and his parents, Hank and Martha, who were chicken and crop farmers. He and Jen are also proud parents of five children.
Huron and Perth
C:519-441-3286
E: derek.vandieten@milk.org
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REGION 11 | CHAIR
Mark Hamel
Mark Hamel was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2018. He represents producers in the counties of Bruce and Grey. Mr. Hamel was re-elected chair of the DFO Board in January 2026. He currently chairs the Ontario Advisory Committees for Milk and Transportation. He also serves on the P5 Supervisory Body and Markets Committee, and represents DFO on the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee, Presidents’ Council and Farmgate 5. He contributed to the development of the Indonesia Dairy Co-operative Initiative by travelling to Indonesia to meet with government officials and dairy representatives in summer 2014. Mr. Hamel is a graduate of the Advanced Agriculture Leadership Program - Class 8. Mr. Hamel (fourth generation) and his wife, Cathy, are partners with their son Matt and daughter-in-law, Larissa, to operate Harmony Holsteins west of Elmwood, Ont. Together, they milk 150 purebred Holsteins and farm 900 acres. Mark and Cathy have three children and seven grandchildren. Mr. Hamel (fourth generation) and his wife, Cathy, are partners with their son Matt and daughter-in-law, Larissa, to operate Harmony Holsteins west of Elmwood, Ont. Together, they milk 150 purebred Holsteins and farm 900 acres. Mark and Cathy have three children and seven grandchildren.
Bruce and Grey
C:519-378-3460
E: Mark.Hamel@milk.org
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REGION 12
Steve Runnalls
Steve Runnalls, a dairy farmer from Thornloe, Ont., was first elected to the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) in 2012. He represents producers in the districts of Northern Ontario and Haliburton. Mr. Runnalls serves on the DFO Governance, Quality Assurance and Transportation Committees. He is also on the Ontario Advisory Committee for Transportation and P5 Raw Milk Quality Committee. He represents DFO on the proAction®, Animal Care Technical and proAction® Advisory Committees. Mr. Runnalls is a second-generation dairy farmer and the fourth generation to own the original farm. He and his family milk 65 registered Holstein cows and grow mainly alfalfa and barley with some canola cash cropped on 1,000 acres. In addition, the family has a flock of 250 ewe sheep, a small herd of beef cattle and sells replacement cattle and does custom work.
Districts of Northern Ontario and Haliburton
C:705-679-4263
E: Steve.Runnalls@milk.org
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