Minnema argued that Maaike Campbell, one of three directors elected at a Feb. 23 zone meeting, was not eligible because the Campbells had sold their hog operation.
But at the hearing by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal, Campbell said she marketed five hogs last year from a backyard operation and sold as freezer meat.
She is a former vice-chair of Ontario Pork.
Had her election been deemed invalid, Minnema would have been elected because he was the fourth and only other candidate.
The Campbells own two operations, the one in Brooke Township that they sold in 2022, and another at Arkona in which both Ms. Campbell and her husband are involved.
The tribunal ruled that the five backyard hogs Campbell raised and sold qualified her as a hog producer in Zone 1, and therefore dismissed Minima's appeal.
