Board of Directors

Mary Robinson

President, CFA

PEI Federation of Agriculture

Soybean, barley and hay farmer, Albany, P.E.I.

Mary Robinson is a managing partner of a 6th generation family farm operation, Eric C. Robinson Inc. and its sister company Island Lime and serves on the boards of associated companies PEI Agromart and Mid-Isle Farms. She holds a degree in economics and business and has worked in Canada and in Scotland in all facets of the potato industry (agronomy, food processing, and production).

She joined the PEI Federation of Agriculture board in 2008 and led the Federation as President from 2015 to 2017. After serving on the Canadian Ag HR Council board for seven years, Mary became CAHRC’s first female chair in 2017. Mary currently serves on the Board of Directors for the WFO.

For many years Mary has been a leading advocate for the agriculture industry, delivering witness testimony and key messaging at provincial and federal levels to senior government officials.

Keith Currie

Vice-President, CFA

Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Cash crops and sweet corn producer, Collingwood, ON

Keith Currie, a Collingwood-area hay and sweet corn farmer, is the former President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. He has 25+ years of experience with the OFA. Currie has a diploma in Agriculture Production Management from Ridgetown College. Currie returned home to manage an eighth-generation dairy and cash crop farm in Simcoe County with his wife Janice and four children.

Currie’s operation now focuses on production of grains and oilseed, forages for dry hay, along with a sweet corn and gladiolus flower production. Currie has served as Director on the Simcoe County Holstein Club where he served as County Delegate for Gencor, member of the Dairy Herd Improvement Association, Simcoe District Co-Operatives, Simcoe County Milk Producers, Stayner Farmers Co-Operative and the Collingwood Agricultural Society.

Chris van den Heuvel

Second Vice-President, CFA

Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture

Dairy farmer, Cape Breton, NS

Chris van den Heuvel grew up on dairy farm in Skye Glen, NS. Along with his wife Karen, they are partnered with their son Jordan on a 4th generation mixed dairy and beef operation in Port Hood, Cape Breton, NS. Managing 160 head of cattle they grow their own grass silage, corn silage, peas, oats and barley for feed. Chris is in his 9th year as the President of the local Inverness/Victoria County Federation of Agriculture, 8th year on the NS Federation of Agriculture (NSFA) executive including a 3-year term as President of the NSFA.

At all three levels Chris is actively involved in the creation, oversight and management of agricultural policy.

In addition to his seats on local, provincial and national executives, Chris sits on the National Program Advisory Committee (NPAC) as the federally appointed member for NS. Chris also sits on various local and municipal committees dealing with issues such as energy, land and the local Chamber of Commerce.