Wilson Chaffey
Wilson Chaffey was born the son of a vegetable farmer and from there began his career in agriculture. He began to diversify by going into the forestry industry, starting with a small crawler tractor and doing odd jobs for contractors.
Wilson felt he would prefer to make his living even closer to the land and, with his wife Marie and a young family (Jacklyn 1961 and Brent 1965), decided to try his hand at farming on a full-time basis. Their first milking cows were four Ayrshires purchased in 1969 from Lundrigan's at Hammond Farm. The first milk was sold to Central Dairies of Stephenville.
Wilson and Marie were not taking over an existing operation, but starting as first generation farmers with all the attendant needs. Land clearing took priority so Wilson continued to work in the woods by day and worked on the farm at night. He was instrumental in forming what would be known as "Wesco Dairy", a milk processing co-operative in Corner Brook made up of dairy producers on the west coast. In 1993, Wilson passed Chaffey's Dairy Farm Inc. to his son Brent. One of the largest dairy farms in the province, at 500 head, it is also self-sufficient in forage and replacement stock.
Wilson served his community in the Area Development Association, overseeing the construction of two new recreation facilities, and also served on the Board of Directors of what is known today as the "College of the North Atlantic". Wilson was a major contributor in forming the "Newfoundland Milk Marketing Board" and later served on its Board of Directors. His obvious ability to understand the agricultural business led to his appointment to serve on the Farm Debt Review Board and the Producers Marketing Board.
Recognizing the need of the agriculture industry for a dependable, competitively-priced means of feed delivery in Newfoundland, Wilson founded W.M.B. Holdings Ltd., servicing the entire province.
Wilson Chaffey's career in agriculture is far from over. His latest interests have led him to build an indoor training facility for horses.
Wilson Chaffey was nominated by the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture and is a worthy recipient for induction into the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame.