January 3, 2012

Paul MacLeod, President of Holstein Canada, and Grant Roy, Chairman of CDN, have issued this brief update from the recent Joint Board meetings on December 19-20, 2011. They report that the Boards of Holstein Canada and Canadian Dairy Network (CDN) had a very fruitful discussion regarding the detailed report on the member input sessions and on the next steps for the proposed amalgamation.

Due to the importance of this matter and the depth of information presented within the detailed report, Board members are now taking the holiday season to reflect on these discussions and will reconvene early in the new year. These discussions were based on the tabled report that was provided by Ann Louise Carson, independent facilitator of the member input sessions. Members provided honest and constructive feedback at these input sessions, which took place across Canada throughout the month of October.

The Boards of Directors would like to thank members of each organization for their patience in this significant decision-making process and will respect the commitment made during the input sessions to get back to members with a decision in early 2012. Season’s greetings and best wishes during the holiday season!