ONTARIO VEAL ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- February 25th, 2010
 
The Ontario Veal Association (OVA) celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2010. From its humble beginnings in 1990, the OVA has steadily grown and proudly served Ontario’s veal industry for the past 20 years.  The theme of this year’s AGM  “Proud of our Past and Passionate about our Future” nicely sums up the approach of the association over the past twenty years and looking forward into the coming years ahead.

“Our strength is perhaps that we are a smaller organization and we try to connect with each of our members as best as we can” suggested OVA Executive  Director Jennifer Haley.  “Over the years we have been blessed with excellent board members and industry leaders who have given so much to help the Ontario veal sector become a prominent stakeholder in the livestock sector” she added.

The 20th Anniversary will be celebrated at the OVA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Friday March 5th, 2010 at the Festival Inn in Stratford.  Registration begins at 9:30am and the Annual Meeting will start promptly at 10:00am. The cost to register is $35.00 per person and includes a full Ontario veal buffet luncheon.

The keynote speaker at the AGM will be Dr. Drew Vermeire from Nouriche Nutrition. Dr. Vermeire will speak about changes to American veal housing standards and implications this may have for Canadian trade. The American Veal Association has passed a resolution that calls for the voluntary transition of all stall housing by 2017.  Dr. Vermiere will discuss what this means for the industry and how will it benefit the North American veal marketplace.

Dr. Vermeire will also speak about successful nutritional management at weaning for calves. “Dr. Vermiere brings a wealth of research knowledge and experience on nutritional strategies for weaning calves to optimize performance” suggests Industry Development Manager Kendra Keels.  “This is a critical time for calf performance and an area where it is a make or break situation so learning new strategies to better manage this transition will help all veal producers” she added.

Other speakers include Mike Draper and Dr. Robert Vanderwoude from OMAFRA who will report on the enforcement and compliance strategy for overweight veal carcasses, an update on the OVA’s role in the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition (OASC) and our lobbying efforts for risk management.
"We are looking forward to having as many veal producers and industry partners attend the AGM as possible" stated OVA President Judy Dirksen.  "This year’s AGM will provide producers with opportunity to celebrate the OVA’s history as well as learn about important issues that will impact its future.”

For more information or to register please call the OVA office at 519-824-2942 or 1-866-311-6422.
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For more information contact:
Media: Jennifer Haley, 519-824-2942
Registration: Sara Penny, 519-824-2942