The organization that represents sheep farmers in Ontario has a new name and look.
The Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency (OSMA) is now known as the Ontario Sheep Farmers, effective at the Ontario Sheep Convention held Thursday and Friday at Alliston.
OSMA’s board of directors made the change following a resolution at the 2015 annual meeting.
OSMA has never been a true marketing board, despite being set up with that potential, so it was time to update the name, board chair Rob Scott said.
“The board looked a few options and this is the way we decided to go, Ontario Sheep Farmers,” said Scott. The board went away from the naming regimen of most of the rest of the Ontario farmer organizations, he said, such as Beef Farmers of Ontario, Chicken Farmers of Ontario and Dairy Farmers of Ontario.
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The organization also created a new logo and brand identity. The name also coincides with an increased lobbying focus for the organization.
“The sheep industry continues to evolve,” Scott said. “We see the name change as an opportunity to rebrand the organization and increase our visibility with consumers, and government and industry partners.”
There are about 3,000 sheep farmers in Ontario represented by the Ontario Sheep Farmers.
— John Greig is a field editor for Glacier FarmMedia based at Ailsa Craig, Ont. Follow him at @jgreig on Twitter.
