Natalie Veles has been reappointed as an independent commissioner with the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission.
Veles was one of two independent commissioners appointed in early 2022 following a governance review that aimed for a more accountable and diverse board at the commission. Veles was selected alongside Craig Evans to serve following a competitive application process.
Veles has been reappointed for an additional three-year term, a position she holds alongside that of executive director with the BC Turkey Marketing Board and BC Turkey Growers Association.
Together with these roles and more than three years as program director with the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC, Veles brings a strong background in regulated marketing and organized agriculture at both the provincial and national levels.
Her reappointment comes following the expansion of the commission’s mandate province-wide. It now regulates the commercial production and marketing of 20 storage crops, greenhouse crops and processing crops not only in southern BC but north of the 52rd parallel of latitude.
The commission is also adding vertical farms to its licensees, ensuring the orderly marketing of the produce from these operations, which are seen as critical to food security and economic opportunity in more remote areas of BC.
An update on the commission’s work will be delivered when it meets for its annual general meeting in Tsawwassen on April 17. The meeting will be held both in person and online, with attendance open to all stakeholders. A growers-only townhall session will follow the business meeting.
Contracts cancelled for beekeepers