B.C. rancher named president of Canadian Cattlemen's Association
David Haywood-Farmer says foreign trade is his priority as president of the association
A third generation rancher from Savona, B.C. has just been named president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.
David Haywood-Farmer has been an active member in the local industry for the past 30 years and served as the B.C. Cattlemen's Association president from 2012 to 2014.
"I always feel that we all have to step up to the plate and do what we can to move our industry forward, and advocate for our industry," he told Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce.
In the past few years, Haywood-Farmer has served as the CCA's chair for foreign trade matters.
Foreign trade a priority
He said as president, his goal is to negotiate free trade agreements for the Canadian beef cattle sector with China and stabilize trade with the EU.
"There's so many big trade files that are being looked at by the federal government, we're very involved in making sure those trade deals fit the beef industry in," he said.
Concerns around President Donald Trump's plans for NAFTA are also top of mind for Haywood-Farmer in this new role.
"All of the beef groups, whether it's Mexico, the U.S. or Canada, we've all come out winners on the NAFTA agreement over the past 23 years. We're really hoping that NAFTA will continue and will come back into force because it's worked well for us," he said.
Haywood-Farmer grew up and into the cattle business near Kamloops and operates a cow-calf farm there with his family.
With files from Daybreak Kamloops