Lactanet Canada Announces 2026 Board Officers and New Director Appointments

Lactanet Canada is pleased to announce the election of Korb Whale as Chair, Tom Pasco as Vice Chair and the appointment of Mariette Gagnon and Benoît Turmel to the Board of Directors. Korb replaces Barbara Paquet who retired from the Lactanet Board after more than six years and served as Chair since 2019.

“On behalf of the Lactanet Board, I would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Barbara Paquet and Harold Sweetnam for their leadership and dedicated service to the dairy industry,” said Korb Whale. “Since joining the Lactanet Board, Barbara has been a respected and valuable board member representing dairy farmers across Canada.” “We are also pleased to welcome Mariette Gagnon and Benoît Turmel to the Board. We look forward to their continued leadership and contribution to the organization.”

Semex representative Tom Pasco has been on the Lactanet Board since established in 2019. Mariette Gagnon replaces Barbara Paquet as the Valacta representative following Barbara’s retirement, and Benoît Turmel replaces Harold Sweetnam Holstein Canada representative following Harold’s election as Holstein Canada President. These appointments reflect the organization’s ongoing commitment to strong governance and leadership in support of Canada’s dairy industry.

Director Profiles

Korb Whale, a seventh-generation farmer, owns and operates Clovermead Farms alongside his parents, milking 160 cows in a rotary parlour near Alma, Ontario. Since starting in 2000, he has been at the forefront of sustainable milk production, including implementing an on-farm anaerobic digester. “The world is changing quickly, and consumer expectations are evolving just as fast,” says Korb. “At Lactanet, we need to anticipate what’s ahead—predict trends, adapt to change, and be ready to respond. It takes a united industry working toward a common goal: a profitable sector that delivers nutritious, high-quality dairy products consumers feel good about. It’s an exciting challenge.”

Tom Pasco owns and operates Glenhaven Farm alongside his son, milking 190 purebred classified Holsteins in Williamstown, Ontario. Their herd is housed in a sand-bedded free-stall barn and managed with a focus on performance, consistency, and long-term genetic improvement. He uses proven tech tools such as DairyComp herd management software and activity monitoring to support day-to-day decision-making. “Lactanet plays an important role as our industry evolves,” says Tom. “As data collection expands with new technologies, the real value lies in turning that data into practical tools to optimize management, strategy, and new traits in genetic evaluations and mating decisions.” Tom is an Eastgen Director and member of the Semex Board.

Mariette Gagnon operates Ferme Boulet in Saint-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec, alongside her husband Simon, son Kevin Boulet and his wife Josiane Chabot. Together, they milk 245 Holsteins in a free-stall barn, and their classified

herd has earned three prestigious Master Breeder shields over the years. In addition to using Lactanet’s milk recording services, the Boulet family relies on DairyComp to support herd management. Mariette serves on the board of the Producteurs de lait du Québec, as well as Valacta, and is proud to join the Lactanet Board of Directors.

Benoît Turmel is co-owner of Les Fermes Turmel Inc. in Sainte-Marie, Quebec, where the family operates a progressive farm with 600 head housed in a free-stall facility and 1,200 acres of crop land. Under the BEAUÇOISE prefix, the dairy milks 300 cows using six Lely robots and a DeLaval pipeline system, while participating in Lactanet’s milk recording services. As a strong advocate for genetic improvement and dairy innovation, Benoît has served as a National Director with Holstein Canada since 2019, supporting producers in maximizing the value and performance of their Holstein herds.

Discover more from Lactanet:

• Meet the entire Lactanet Board of Directors by clicking here
• Read Lactanet’s recently released annual Progress Reports by clicking here
• Take a closer look at Lactanet’s accomplishments in this quick video by clicking here