Dairy Farmers to look at products that could be used for fundraising

by SUSAN MANN

Dairy Farmers of Ontario should form partnerships with industry to develop fundraising products, according to a resolution approved at Dairy Farmers of Ontario fall regional meetings earlier this month.

The resolution was proposed by Marilyn Moore of the Renfrew Dairy Producer Committee and calls for the products to be available within a year. The products would be used to help schools, sports teams, churches and other charitable groups trying to raise funds. “A totally owned American company has a growing market in Ontario with a fundraising product entitled ‘Little Caesars pizza kits’ (containing American dairy product), which meets the needs for fundraising,” the resolution says. The venture of fundraising is an untapped market for the dairy industry and it would be a way for Ontario consumers to support provincial dairy farmers.

Graham Lloyd, Dairy Farmers general counsel and communications director, says currently the organization isn’t involved in providing fundraising products. Lloyd says they don’t know how many Little Caesars pizza kits for fundraising are being used in Ontario. “We have no way of measuring” that.

The next step for the resolution is it goes to Dairy Farmers staff for review. Staff also give the person who submitted it a response. The person then has a chance to submit the resolution to Dairy Farmers spring policy conference for a discussion and vote by delegates there. If it passes at that meeting, the resolution gets sent to the board for its consideration but all resolutions are non-binding, meaning the board isn’t obligated to adopt them.

Another resolution that came up at this month’s fall regional meetings was one calling for the board members vote count to be made public on all future policies. That was submitted by Peter Ruiter of the Carelton Country Dairy Producer Committee. It was also approved at the meeting and must follow the same path as the fundraising products’ resolution.

A total of 13 resolutions were debated at this year’s fall regional meetings. BF