Canada only produces 40 per cent of the lamb needed for consumers. As the population changes culturally, the need for lamb and goat will increase. And lamb is showing up on more menus across the nation.

Sheep once played a huge role in our history — providing lamb, mutton, lanolin, fat, and wool as well as cash for farmers.

Every soldier in the First and Second World Wars could attest to mutton stew. Many a rural home relied on the homespun wool for knitting of clothing fit for Canadian winters and to send to Canadian soldiers overseas, the lanolin for soap, the meat for food, and the bones for dog food and fertilizer.

In the 1930s when the Canadian population was 10.3 million, more than three million sheep were on Canadian farms.

• More with Brenda Schoepp: Who has benefited from the shift to heavier cattle?

The Canadian flock today is small — about 814,000 head (in 2017), which are scattered on 9,390 farms throughout the country. But there are more than a billion sheep worldwide, with China owning the largest herd (more than 146 million head) followed by Australia, India, Iran, New Zealand and what was formally Sudan (now Sudan and South Sudan).

Lamb and mutton are staples in many rural areas, and milking sheep, goats, and camels is especially important to nomadic and isolated communities. As for consumption, those who eat the most lamb and sheep live in Mongolia where folks consume over 50 kilograms per capita per year followed by Turkmenistan, New Zealand, Iceland and Greece.

Although Canadians are beginning to appreciate lamb, the flock is decreasing. However, goat meat consumption and the goat herd is growing (there were more than 230,000 goats on 5,627 Canadian farms in 2017).

Globally, the largest consumers of goat meat in terms of tonnage are China, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sudan and South Sudan) but the largest per capita consumer is Sudan. The Sudanese goat herd exceeds 43 million.

Both lamb and young goat are delicious to eat, and the small ruminants provide valuable help when managed properly in terms of weed control and forage stimulation. As they add value to marginal land, sheep and goats can get a new farmer going even on heavier or rocky soil.

The best part though is the low cost to new entrants in agriculture as a smaller land base is required. Behind us are the days of the Canadian range wars between farmers (who had sheep and equipment) and ranchers who had the cattle. Today’s farming community is once again reflective of the cultural needs of the consumer and understands the challenges posed by the ever-present debt that can be a part of farming. Getting young folks started is important and a smaller flock on a smaller piece of land is an option.

Starting is easy — although staying sane is optional as sheep and goats get into all sorts of trouble.

It is important to do your stock shopping from a well-established farm with a similar vision or program and on similar land. Look for mentors who are experienced in husbandry, genetic selection, grazing, and infrastructure. And most importantly, do the research on the cost and access to meat processors and markets before buying a single one of the bleating beasts.

Choosing to sell lambs or kids in volume will require meeting weight targets. Selling direct will be dependent on weight and quality. As a starting farmer, having 100 ewes or nannies may seem romantic until there are 200 carcasses that need refrigeration and a buyer. Like vegetable production, when the product is perishable and the sale is direct to consumers, refrigeration is critical.

Consumers love farmers, especially ones who can tell them about the product and give it to them from their own hands. It may seem dramatically slow at the start, but getting the connections and relationships right with the consumer is critical. This holds true in the relationship with the processor as well. Inviting feedback on the carcass quality helps identify where improvements can be made and perhaps offers a point of differentiation with the product.

A farmer starting a new farm with a small flock or herd joins 500 million other small landholders around the world who make a valuable contribution to their community. Sheep and goats do not guarantee happiness (they may, however, provide immense frustration) nor are they the one path toward the fulfilment of a farming dream.

But they are worthy of consideration when starting a new farm.

Breed dependent, there are many benefits including milk, meat and wool with sheep, and milk and meat with goats.

As our Canadian culture shifts, these tasty proteins are both desired and in short supply. Reason enough to conclude that an opportunity awaits new and established farmers in Canada.

The post Has the time come again for Canadian producers to go deep into sheep? appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“I will tell you right now that the sheep business, in my opinion, is a dysfunctional and declining business and I’m not saying that solely about the Canadian business,” said Alexander, president and CEO of the North American Lamb Company.

A Canadian who worked in lamb finishing and processing in New Zealand for 25 years, Alexander said it was the state of the lamb industry in New Zealand that prompted his return to Canada. North American Lamb Company is a partnership of SunGold Specialty Meats (which has the country’s largest federally inspected lamb-processing plant in Innisfail and the Canada Gold Lamb feedlot in Iron Springs) and Canada Sheep and Lamb Farms in Manitoba.

Alexander said that the problems in the sheep industry in both New Zealand and Canada mean that there is huge opportunity for sheep producers.

“I’ll tell you what the biggest problem in our industry is on both sides of the hemisphere. The biggest problem is consistent livestock supply,” he said.

In New Zealand, about 20 million lambs are processed each year, and the supply still isn’t consistent.

“If it is dry, we will get those lambs real early and real light,” said Alexander. “If it gets wet, we’ll get them real heavy. There’s no consistency.

“The consumers are not being served what they should be served. That’s in New Zealand where we have 20 million lambs. You have the same problem here, if not worse.”

It’s not just the lack of a consistent supply in Canada but also a lack of lambs meeting the specification that processors need, he said.

“There are some lambs here that I’ve seen that (in New Zealand) we would turn around and send them right back,” he said. “We wouldn’t even touch them. I’ve seen lambs that have more mud than meat on them. We can’t continue on like that.”

Canadians consume about 35,000 tonnes of lamb annually, but only 13 per cent of that is domestic lamb processed in federally inspected plants (and therefore able to be sold in other provinces or exported to the U.S. or overseas). Imports, virtually all from New Zealand and Australia, account for 65 per cent of the market.

“So there’s a lot of value on the table,” said Alexander. “But very little of your product is portable.

“What we need to think about as a group is lamb as a global supply business. That’s the only way you’re going to extract value.”

There is an opening for Canada to become a major global supplier of lamb, he added

“In New Zealand, over the last nine or 10 years, we’ve lost nine million head of breeding ewes. We had 17 million breeding ewes,” he said. “That’s the sheep mecca of the world.”

But the Canadian lamb sector could also see the sort of decline, he said.

“I would suggest your industry might be on the same trajectory,” said Alexander. “So you need to think really hard and really long about where this industry can go in the future. Because we see really huge opportunities. We’ve made a huge investment in the business and we’re going to move forward with what you’ve just left on the table for us.”

His company’s plan is to build a lamb value chain, founded on what the market wants.

“If you’re not market led, forget it,” he said. “Right now, we don’t provide the market much. We’re lucky we even have markets, the way we change things around. We don’t have enough product to satisfy their needs.”

The sheep industry needs to provide consistent lamb products year round. Right now, people are supplying different breeds of lamb, and slaughtering at different ages. That should change and there should be more of a focus on genetics.

“We need a maternal animal that will breed year round and provide us with three market lambs per ewe per year,” said Alexander.

The North American Lamb Company has two breeding units and one growing unit in Manitoba. Lambs are weaned at eight weeks, go into the growing unit for six weeks, and are then finished at the Canada Gold feedlot in Iron Springs. Once they reach 56 kilograms, they are processed at SunGold Specialty Meats in Innisfail.

“A key to this thing is that we get those lambs processed at less than 200 days of age, year round. We do the same specification, year round.”

In total, Alexander hopes to grow barns of 30,000 breeding ewes in Manitoba, as well as a barn of 20,000 ewes in Alberta.

“They’re always the same age when we slaughter. They have always been fed the same, and they’re always the same breeds. It’s all about generating more value.”

Alexander told the producers in the audience that he is interested in talking to people who want to raise and sell lambs for finishing, but added they must be able to provide what his company wants.

“The opportunities for people to be involved with this are many,” he said. “But I’ll be frank with you — they have to be commercial. They can’t be a handshake arrangement where you go do what you want to do and we’ll make something out of this.”

The post There’s opportunity in the lamb sector but only for some appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“The No. 1 challenge we face is a shortage of supply,” said Miles Kliner, general manager of Sungold Specialty Meats in Innisfail. “That has been going on for 15 to 16 years. We have fewer sheep market lamb inventory in this country now than we did in 2001 and yet we are in a demand market, which is continuing to grow.”

Lamb is the only red meat protein which has grown in consumption in Canada over the last 10 to 12 years.

One reason why is the changing nature of Canada’s ethnic population. Millennials and the population at large are also looking to try new types of proteins that are healthy, and more environmentally sustainable.

“As Canada becomes more diverse, ethnic immigrants are for sure driving demand, and I think there are more foodies, more people who are becoming aware of what is produced locally,” said Darlene Stein, chair of the Alberta Lamb Producers (ALP). “I think there is a bigger push from that sector as well.”

Stein, who raises a commercial flock with her husband near Barrhead, said Canada is not able to meet even 50 per cent of its market demand. The other 50 per cent is currently being filled by New Zealand lamb.

“In order for us to expand, we have to be able to compete. It’s great that consumers are becoming more aware of ‘buy local’ but a significant portion of the population is looking at price,” said Stein, who lambs out about 500 to 600 grass-based ewes every year.

The scale problem

Canada needs to compete with New Zealand, but unfortunately, Canadians can’t graze their sheep year round like the New Zealanders can.

“There are a lot of expenses that they just don’t incur,” said Stein, who has been in the sheep industry for 10 years.

One of the challenges for Albertan and Canadian producers, is being able to raise enough sheep so farmers can earn their livelihood from their flocks.

Sheep require far more hands-on work than cattle.

“A lot of cattle producers will grow their herd and then get a second job. When you’ve got 300 sheep, it’s very difficult to go get a second job, but that’s still not enough sheep to live on,” said Stein, who used to be in the cattle industry.

Most ALP members are small producers. Stein estimates 70 per cent are under 100 head, and probably at least 50 per cent are under 50 head.

The industry continues to attract new entrants, both in Alberta and Canada. As part of its goal to grow the industry, ALP has joined with sheep organizations in Ontario and Quebec to make its voice more powerful. There is also a sheep representative sitting on the committee for business risk management for the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

But there’s lots of incentive to get into the sheep industry.

“The demand curve for lamb looks very good,” Sungold’s Kliner said. “If you read or follow or listen to so-called experts who are economists and study these things in detail, the suggestion by all reports is that lamb will continue to grow in per capita consumption in this country over the next five to 15 years. You couldn’t really ask for a better situation,” he said.

While lamb is exported to other nations, most lamb raised in Alberta is still consumed domestically.

Most sheep that enter Kliner’s plant are raised by producers he considers hobbyists who don’t have the scale to support themselves.

Stein agrees that there are a lot of new entrants joining the industry, but they are mostly small scale, and may be new to livestock production or farming in general. Many people join, but can be discouraged because sheep death losses can be high, due to predation or animal husbandry errors.

Kliner is looking to develop business relationships with producers who want to make the sheep industry their primary business.

“As time goes on, we’ve already made some significant inroads. Next year will be much different for us than this year from a supply standpoint,” he said.

Stein doesn’t know if Canada will ever have all-Canadian lamb, just because of all of the challenges of the sheep industry.

“It would be nice to see a time where we are filling 80 per cent of our market,” she said.

The post Sheep industry struggles to match supply with demand appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Alberta Lamb Producers, the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency, and Federation des producteurs d’agneaux et moutons du Quebec represent 75 per cent of the ewe-flock in Canada.

The new alliance “will leverage the resources of the sheep industries in the three provinces to continue to move the sheep industry in Canada forward,” Alberta Lamb Producers said in a news release, adding the group will join the Canadian Federation of Agriculture as a member, effective Jan. 1.

“The Alberta Lamb Producers welcomes the opportunity to join the Canadian Federation of Agriculture with our National Sheep Network partners,” said Erin Yaremko, chair of Alberta Lamb Producers. “We are excited to see an increased emphasis of advocacy for the sheep industry in Alberta on a national stage.”

Alberta Lamb Producers announced this summer it was pulling out of the Canadian Sheep Federation effective Oct. 20. At the time, Yaremko cited “a lack of communication, action on key issues, and transparency” in the national body along with the $25,000 annual cost of dues. Ontario also left the federation this year while Quebec quit the national body several years ago.

Other provinces will be eligible to join the network, the new group said.

The post Alberta Lamb Producers forms new group with Ontario and Quebec appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

SunGold Specialty Meats’ Lamb Tonight line of meats began selling at Sobeys, Safeway, and Thrifty Foods stores across Canada earlier this summer. It features 10 ready-to-cook lamb products, including lamb burgers, sausages, meatballs, kabobs, and seasoned ground lamb.

But along with making the lamb easy to use and attractive for consumers, it also wanted to share the story of its producers, so the labels contain pictures and background on some of their lamb-producing families.

Polson’s Farm is one of the featured operations, and Nathanael Polson has already lots of feedback.

“I have an aunt in Toronto, and she goes to Sobeys and sees the lamb with our picture on it,” said Polson, who’s breeding 1,600 ewes at his family operation near Tees. “So she tells her friends. It’s a connection, and it can snowball. We’ve had extended family even in Red Deer see it, and all of a sudden, it gives more ownership to what we do.

“People today seem to need a story to buy.”

SunGold sees Lamb Tonight as a good news story all around.

“We’re taking underutilized cuts and creating more value out of the carcass, which is good, not just for SunGold, but also for producers,” said general manager Miles Kliner. “The reality is we need lambs to be successful, and producers need to make a living to make more lambs.”

The Lamb Tonight line also features innovative packaging, made possible by a $1.7-million investment in both mixing and packaging equipment for the Innisfail processing plant. Those improvements were completed in May, adding 30 new jobs over the last few months.

“This project represents another significant investment by the shareholders into the lamb industry,” said Dwayne Beaton, SunGold CEO. “It also provides new retail packing options for our current fresh lamb meat and offal business.”

“The equipment allows us several new options for pre-cut, ready-to-sell product for the retail environment that we believe will help grow the lamb category, to better satisfy growing demand,” said Kliner, adding work is underway to find new ways to utilize culls.

Because of the lingering wartime stigma attached to the term mutton, processing older sheep has often been an expense item for producers rather than a return. So with a marketing plan and a more palatable term, the introduction of some innovative sheep meat products could be down the road as well.

Interacting with consumers is a priority for Kliner, and not a week has gone by since Lamb Tonight launched in June that he hasn’t personally dealt with at least one call or inquiry.

“A lot of them are technical in nature. The No. 1 question is whether the product is pork free, since it seems many people have severe pork allergies, and a lot of products use hog casings. But we use all collagen-derived bovine casings, so we can maintain our halal certification.”

There are also no fillers or preservatives in the Lamb Tonight products.

Sales have increased since the product launch, but has been modest so far. However, Kliner said he’s confident the product quality and marketing effort, including producer stories, will drive demand higher.

“I’m excited. We see Lamb Tonight products as a gateway for people who haven’t tried lamb before,” he said. “We wanted to provide consumers with a more convenient lamb product. These value-added items offer a lower price point compared to lamb cuts.

“They’re simple to cook. We’ve had tremendous feedback. People are looking for different choices.”

On the farm front, Nathanael Polson doesn’t mind the trappings of his retail ‘fame.’

“Value added is a good thing. It helps the bottom line,” he said. “Margins are so small for both producing and packing lamb. We trust if they’re making money, we make more money.”

Stories about 12 Alberta lamb producers can be found at lambtonight.com.

Lamb consumption: small but growing

Canadians only eat, on average, about a kilogram of lamb per year — a small fraction compared to their consumption of pork, beef, or chicken.

But despite that, the country’s sheep producers can’t supply the market, with 50 to 60 per cent of lamb being imported every year, mostly from New Zealand, Australia and the U.S.

But SunGold says lamb is the only red meat protein category growing in per capita consumption in Canada over the past decade. Also, Canadians eat more lamb per capita than Americans.

The post New meat products hit the spot for lamb producers appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.