Ontario Sheep News - March 2012 by Ontario Sheep Farmers

industry highlights

production innovations

Vol. 31 - Issue 1

march 2012

NEWS

OntarioSheep Linking Landscape

and Predation

FAMACHA and Parasite Control Heat Transfer in Sheep Production P M 4 0 0 3 3 529

Cochrane, Alberta, Canada

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Tel/Fax: 403-932-3135 am@ramhbreeders.com

SHEEP CANADA

20/03/2008 10:09:03 AM

OSN

March 2012

Chair Report

Looking Toward the Future

5 Editorial People Don’t Buy What You Do; They Buy Why You Do It.

GM Report

Profit for Everyone

7 Market Report 8 bioFlock… 9 The 4-H Impact on Ontario Sheep Farmers 10 FAMACHA – Where does it fit into a Sustainable Integrated Parasite Control Once he gets to the barn, we’ll make a run for it. I’ll drive, you take shotgun. (sIPC) Program Photo: Martin Boettcher 11 Schmallenberg Virus in Europe OSMA Board 12 2012 Canadian Sheep Breeders’ Association Winter Update Provincial Directors Telephone 13 First in Canada District 1 Fraser Hodgson (519) 786-4176 District 2 Dennis Fischer (519) 363-3819 14 Heat Transfer in Sheep Production District 3 Luann Erb (519) 393-5512 16 New Projection Shows Global Food Demand Doubling by 2050 District 4 Rob Scott (519) 758-0584 17 Health Program Listing District 5 Andrew Gordanier (519) 925-6502 District 6 Josephine Martensson 18 Change is Inevitable -Hemsted (705) 487-2466 19 Getting Sheep-Shape with Ontario Farm Fresh District 7 Judy Dening (705) 324-3453 20 Timelines towards Mandatory RFID Tags District 8 Mark Ritchie (613) 634-1212 District 9 Allan Burn (613) 264-0801 21 Fishmeal Supplementation during Pregnancy Protects District 10 Colleen Acres (613) 826-2330 Fetal Lambs from Maternal Stress District 11 Colleen Alloi (705) 248-3287 22 On-Farm Biosecurity Tools Being Developed OSMA staff 23 New Sheep Biosecurity Calculator Murray Hunt General Manager 24 Q Fever Outbreaks Expensive Hits for Sheep Farms manager@ontariosheep.org Jane Harlaar Liaison Officer 25 Pucks N’ Purls Ruth Gilmour Office Manager/Communication 26 Code of Practice for Wool Preparation Co-ordinator, OSN Editor Jillian Craig Project Coordinator 28 And the Winners Are… Sheep News Assistant 31 Religious & Ethnic Holidays Roselen Marcy Administrative Assistant Sheep News Assistant 32 Examining the Link between Landscape and Jennifer Johanson Executive Assistant Predation – an Update Philip Kirkbride Sheep News Assistant / 34 Body Condition Scoring of Sheep Multi Media 38 Improve Conception to Increase Consumption Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: 40 Wrap Ups ONTARIO SHEEP MARKETING AGENCY 130 Malcolm Road, Guelph, Ontario N1K 1B1 44 Farm Credit Canada: Optimism about Canadian Phone: (519) 836-0043 Agriculture at All-Tim High Fax: (519) 836-2531 E-mail: general@ontariosheep.org 45 Where Are All the Lambs? Website: www.ontariosheep.org www.lambrecipes.ca 46 District News Market Line: (519) 836-0043

Cover Photo: Amanda Reinink: Huron County.

Publications Mail Registration Number: 40033529 ISSN 0844-5303

Deadlines for submissions to the Sheep News: For March Issue - deadline February 1st • For June Issue -deadline May 1st For September Issue - deadline August 1st • For December Issue - deadline November 1st

march 2012 Date of Issue: March 2012

Ontario Sheep News is published by Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency and is distributed quarterly to all registered producers. Non-producers may subscribe in writing to the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency. Subscription rates: Non-producers $15.00 for one year, $25.00 for two years. Prices include GST. Please make cheques payable to: Ontario Sheep News, 130 Malcolm Road, Guelph, Ontario N1K 1B1. Editorial and advertising inquiries should be made to the OSMA. Ontario Sheep News is the official publication of the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency. Contents of this publication may be reproduced only by permission of the Editor and with credit acknowledged. Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the publisher or the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency.

Submitting photos to OSMA for use in publications (e.g. magazine, promotional/educational materials). Photos will be accepted with the following information attached separately: your name, full mailing address, phone number, permission to use the photo for print purposes (in addition, if there are any individuals in the picture they should be identified and permission to print their picture must be secured either directly (if adults) or (if children) from a parent or guardian). When emailing photos, pictures must be a minimum of 200 dpi (300 dpi preferred) and each picture should be clearly identified with the required information provided as outlined. Photos will NOT be returned and all entries become the property of OSMA to be used or reproduced at the discretion of OSMA. (Whenever possible, credit will be given to photographer if used.)

chairman’s report

march 2012

Looking Toward the Future Dennis Fischer, Chair

s the new Chair, I look forward to working with the Board and staff as we continue to serve the producers of Ontario and the Ontario sheep industry. For those of you who do not know me, this is my second term on the Board as the Provincial Director for District 2, which is the Grey-Bruce area. My wife, Brenda Ann and I live in Elmwood where we raised our four children. We have a commercial flock of approximately 500 ewes and a small cow/calf operation. Even though this is early in 2012, we are already halfway through the OSMA business year. This year sees the continuation of work in many areas. The Board has set the direction of these four areas to be focused on: expansion, program participation, predation and education. Staff is working on delivering webinars as a way to increase education, program participation to hopefully see producers make the move to expand their flocks. In April, OSMA is coordinating an ‘across industry’ planning exercise. The start of March will see a series or surveys set up on survey monkey looking for your input. It will be sent to producers, processors, auctions, and on-farm service providers (vets, feed sales) and others and a cross section the of retail industry. This survey will address what the industry can and will be in the future and what needs to happen to get there. Then in April a group of forty crossindustry participants will spend a day working from the survey results and developing the key areas that need to be collectively worked on. After all those details are developed OSMA will use that to establish our Strategic Plan for the next few years. Producer input is very important to the Board and Staff of OSMA. Producers are encouraged to take their input to their District meetings, discuss it there and then the

districts can send it on to OSMA. Policy and direction questions should be directed to the Board, while service and administration questions go to the General Manager and staff. Periodically the Board will be asking districts for input on specific areas that are being discussed at the Board level. At your next meeting you will find that we have asked your District Executive to bring two topics forward. They focus on district input to the policy and direction side of OSMA. 1. How does or should OSMA work with other producer sheep groups (beyond OSMA Districts) in Ontario? This topic will be on the April 18th OSMA Board meeting agenda. Input from Districts would be appreciated by March 31. 2. Are there areas or themes where the 2012-2013 OSMA budget needs to focus on? This topic will be on the May OSMA Board meeting agenda. Input from Districts would be appreciated by April 30th. In closing, I wish to say that the Board is committed to continuing to follow OSMA’s mission and continue to work in the five strategic areas of advocacy, organizational development, promotion, research & development and education. All the best as you go into lambing season. OSN

Dennis Fischer, OSMA Chair

Editorial policy: Ontario Sheep News represents an important vehicle for two-way communication between the OSMA Board and its member producers. Ontario Sheep News welcomes and encourages letters from producers as a means of enabling producers to communicate both with the Board of Directors and other producers on issues of importance to OSMA and the entire sheep industry. Ontario Sheep News also invites suggestions for articles from producers and other industry participants. Letters to the editor of Ontario Sheep News may be on any sheep industry topic, including OSMA policies, programs or procedure. Letters may address previous Ontario Sheep News Articles or letters to the editor, and the editor may comment briefly on the accuracy of any information contained in letters. Letters should be of general interest to other readers of Ontario Sheep News, should not exceed 300 words, and may be edited for style or grammatical errors. All letters must include the author’s name, postal address and telephone number for author verification. Letters printed will indicate the author’s name, town, and title if applicable. Potentially defamatory or libelous material, or personal attacks on individuals, will not be permitted. Subject to space limitations, Ontario Sheep News will attempt to print all letters which meet the criteria indicated above. Where more than one letter is received on the same topic, Ontario Sheep News may print only a representative sample of letters. If a producer feels that the editor has inappropriately edited or not printed a letter, he or she may submit a written request to the Board of Directors for a review to determine whether there has been any violation of Ontario Sheep News’ editorial policy.

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from the editor

march 2012

People Don’t Buy What You Do; They Buy Why You Do It. Ruth Gilmour, Ontario Sheep News Editor

s a student and for almost 10 summers, I followed my father’s footsteps and worked as a ‘hatter’. My father was the Plant Manager of Biltmore Hats located here in Guelph. The ‘Biltmore’ as it was called had a reputation of manufacturing the finest hats found anywhere. We lived very close to the factory and as a child, my friends and I would pass the front doors almost every day in the summer on our way to the local pool. I would always try to look past the glass on the front doors to try to see my dad. Of course, he wasn’t there but I found something very intriguing on those glass doors. There, in large gold leaf lettering that could be read from the street were the words, “Through these doors pass the greatest Hatters in the world. I recall being in awe of those words and if I hadn’t gone on to work at the Biltmore for a number of summers, I would look back on those feelings as being naive. But I did work there and I learned something amazing. It was true. Every person who worked there took huge ownership to the quality of the product despite the fact that many may have only been making minimum wage. There was a pride in every department from the ‘swamp’ where rabbit fur came into the door to the silk liners and quality boxing that signified ownership of a “Biltmore Hat’ as it left the plant. Fresh Premium Ontario Lamb. The logo displayed on this page signifies quality. Many of our producers put considerable effort into marketing their commitment to quality. It is not necessarily their lamb that they are selling but their commitment to taking the measures to ensure that their management plan, their feed program, their flock health regiment and the branding of their own farm all flow into one single message and that is their care to ensure a quality product.

If you have ever had the pleasure of listening to Chris Boettcher of Brussels speak about his organic lamb you will hear exactly what I am talking about. He spoke at the WOLPA event last August. He speaks from the inside, out. It’s about what he believes in and how these beliefs manifest into the lamb he raises. Other producers such as Luann Erb, Bert Nieuwenhuis and Laurie Maus who sell at markets or to a specialized clientele, have great success selling because of their belief system that results in the quality of their product. These kinds of producers are putting out a great message for the entire industry. We want consumers to know that Ontario producers are primarily concerned with quality in the production of their local lamb.

This is not to say that selling in this fashion is the ‘preferred’ way to sell lamb. It can be very time consuming and labour intense and many producers choose to put their full time and efforts into production and sell through our two industry partners, the auction markets and abattoirs or one of our agents. The ones whose commitment to Continued on page 7.

letters to the editor are welcome The OSN welcomes letters to the editor. Please email: general@ontariosheep.org or mail to: Ontario Sheep News, 130 Malcolm Road, Guelph ON NIK 1BI.

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general manager’s report

march 2012

Profit for Everyone Murray Hunt

lmost daily in my work at OSMA, I hear someone speaking about profit somewhere along the various sheep and lamb supply chains. In almost all cases the person speaking is concerned about the profit but not that others in the supply chain also need to make a profit. Have you ever thought, “I must make a profit sheep farming but it’s dog-eat-dog in this world so feed suppliers, vets, auctioneers, processors and retailers are on their own and if they do not make a profit that is their problem”. So is that what makes for a healthy, viable, sustainable industry? Recently I took the opportunity to participate in an Agricultural Management Institute (AMI) organized conference entitled “Global Perspectives for Growing Farm Profits”. It was an excellent conference. I do not often get to hear, in person, a Farm Credit Senior Strategist, an International Food Policy Researcher, a FAO Economist, a Bank economist, a Senior News Business Correspondent, the founder of an international marketing agency, a Public Author that is a global competition expert and a University Economist speaking about who the end consumer is, at the end of the day and halfway through the conference my head was spinning. I am very glad that it is my habit to take notes during speeches. So now I wish to share with you what I heard: 1. By 2050 the global population will be almost double what it is today.

2. There will be more people able to afford animal meat protein. 3. The demand for food will be robust and prices for products are expected to remain strong. 4. Methods must be implemented that minimize food wastage. 5. New approaches must be found to deal with water usage and harvesting forage, especially from non-cropable land. 6. Agricultural leaders must be innovative and help create opportunities to change the ways things have been done in the past. 7. Food security and national food strategies will be more important in the future than they have been in the past. 8. Canada is well positioned to have a strong economy in the years to come but our government must bring spending under control. 9. Canadians must take seriously the challenge to increase their productivity. In agriculture, it is important that farmers place emphasis on implementing new procedures & technology. 10. Canadian farmers need to tell consumers that agriculture matters. In fact farmers need a plan, for excellence, for working collectively and for producing food that gives us healthy bodies. 11. Globalization is here to stay. Do what you do well. Better yet, excel. 12. Consumers in the future will want and demand food products that are safe, healthy, offer variety and meet their social and cultural needs So for me the take home message was that the industry will be viable, sustainable & profitable for all in the supply chain provided we work together and provide the consumer what they need. The consumer is in fact everyone, breeders, producers, input suppliers, service suppliers, transporters, auctioneers, processors, whole sellers, retailer and yes the consumer of our great, safe, nutritious domestic lamb. OSN

Photo: Debra Garner

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market report

march 2012

The Ontario Market Report Full market information can be found every week in the Ontario Farmer and online at www.ontariosheep.org under “Market Information”. The graphs shown here show the trends in pricing and volume of the last 6 months in Ontario. OSN

You can also listen to the weekly information by calling 519-836-0043 and press 6 to go to the market line. Market information for OLEX, the Ontario Stockyards, Brussels and Embrun are recorded every week. You can also find archived weekly summaries on the Market page.

Continued from page 5 ~People

Don’t Buy What You Do; They Buy Why You Do It.

quality is their driving force will tell you that their lambs see higher prices too. We must all work together to promote the simple message: Ontario lamb is quality lamb. If you produce with this driving force behind you, you won’t have to look for new customers, you will continue to build on the base that you already have. But consumers will not be fooled. There are measures that still need to be put into place that will assist producers in knowing more about the quality of their lamb as it goes to market as well as all of us working together toward continuous improvement on other levels as well. Not convinced? If I can just take you back to my ‘hatter’ days, I recall the company decided to produce the

best quality western cowboy hat ever made. It sold for $40 (maybe I just gave out too much information about myself). The hat did not sell well and the decision was made that the price did not reflect their own commitment to quality. Instead of a high priced marketing campaign they just increased the price of the hat to $160.00. That created another problem. They couldn’t produce the hats fast enough. It appears that everyone wants to buy quality. OSN Footnote: If you want to read more about the title of this editorial, Google TED Talks, Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action.

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bioFlock... Jillian Craig

ioFlock has launched! This program has been created by producers for producers and in the coming months new features will continue to be added in order to keep the program current. To date there are several producers enrolled with bioFlock. A flock management software can help you and your farm business since it provides quick access to information (no digging in drawers), time savings and enhanced efficiency. You can easily get historical data as well as see if you are meeting your goals. Goals help you improve your management, for example if you want to improve your mortality rate you can strive to reduce this by .5% to 1% every year. By looking at a 5 year report you can then see if you are achieving this target—if not you can aim to improve or perhaps there was a specific year which was a problem. Trends in the data can help you set achievable goals for your individual operation. At a recent webinar a strong point regarding the necessity of management systems was made. The first year of using a management software is a learning curve and your data may not make perfect sense, however in the years to come you will get accurate, reliable results. The analogy of a new planter was used, if you were to go out and buy a brand new corn planter you will probably have to refer to the manual and play with the settings in order to get comfortable with this new piece of equipment. By the second year you mostly have the planter worked out and in the years to come it will become second nature to plant corn with your planter. The same holds true with a flock management software, this will become a powerful tool with accurate records which will only help your business get better over time.

have 2 to 3 more lambs per year bioFlock has paid for itself! Conversely, if you are able to cull 2 to 3 poor producing ewes and keep 2 to 3 productive replacements per year bioFlock has paid for itself. Any system of recording will benefit you in the long run, yet bioFlock offers some unique features to assist the sheep producer. One key feature of bioFlock is the convenient emails the program will send you. A ‘snapshot’ of this email has been provided for you in this article. Emails can be sent once a week and will highlight animals which may need attention. For example, lambs approaching 50 and 100 days will be listed in columns; this way you will know

Now you may think “I do not have time to record data”. In reality you don’t find time but instead you make time to record data. Data recording is important in order to get a true understanding of where your flock is performing, how you can improve, and give you a general sense of your operation’s success.

you should be weighing these lambs in order to capture weights for genetic evaluations. A variety of animal lists can also be generated from this helpful email including animals which are sick, in need of further treatment, culls, market animals, replacements, poor performers, animals on withdrawal, open ewes, to name a few. By knowing this information, you can plan your time accordingly and can potentially improve your management system by not missing important weighing times or vaccination booster dates. Open or cull ewes also cannot be forgotten about since they will be shown in a list.

The cost of a flock management software may be another reason why you are hesitant to invest in one. Another way of thinking about a management software is if you are able to

If you are interested in bioFlock please email jcraig@ ontariosheep.org or visit the OSMA website for more information. OSN “Funding for this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP). In Ontario, this program is delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council.”

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Get Involved with 4-H!

f you have youth aged 9 to 21, consider getting them involved in 4-H. Too old for 4-H? Become a 4-H leader. Maybe you have sheep and know a youth who does not live on a farm but would like to be involved—you could perhaps loan them a lamb to train, fit and show. Sheep 4-H teaches youth about sheep husbandry, nutrition, general care as well as preparation for shows and showing. However, 4-H also gives youth valuable skills which can be used in future jobs including running meetings, taking notes, building leadership skills, networking, as well as others.

For more information on a sheep 4-H club near you please go to www.4-hontario.ca or call the 4-H office at 1-877-410-6748. Most 4-H sheep clubs will start in March or April so make sure to contact the 4-H office today! The following article is written by a 4-H member. Nicole will give you a better perspective of what you can look forward to when you join a 4-H sheep club. OSN

The 4-H Impact on Ontario Sheep Farmers Nicole Shelley, 4 -H Sheep Member

he kids walked toward the barn with buckets, towels, soap and brushes. No, they weren’t going to be scrubbing down any walls or floors, but instead are on their way to the 4-H sheep fitting day. Prepared to learn about how to get a sheep ready for a show, the members were dressed for the occasion in rubber boots and old clothes. They were also armed with a water hose for washing, and in the case of a good ol’ fashioned water fight. You never know what might happen at a 4-H sheep meeting! As many of us know, 4-H is a club for boys and girls ages 9-21, and is an organization of leaders building leaders. There are many types of clubs, from livestock and agriculture to computers and cooking. 4-H stands for Head, Heart, Hands and Health, with the motto being “Learn to do by doing”. In our modern sheep industry, 4-H is such a big part of helping the next generation learn how to care for sheep, and be the leaders of tomorrow. My home club is the Hanover & District 4-H Sheep Club. It has been running since 1981, and has over 30 members today. In the past we have taught many young people the skills they need in the sheep industry, and now some of those people have moved on to be leaders in the this field. Jason Emke and Darrel Hopkins are both past members of the Hanover 4-H Sheep Club, and are prime examples of the leaders that 4-H can help build.

judging in the show ring is important, the kids learn it is even more important to know how to judge your future breeding stock from your potential source. With 4-H, both kids in the urban setting and rural farms come together to learn about sheep. And in many cases, the town kids take home skills and information that encourages them to get into the sheep industry. On the other hand, a large number of the rural members have already started their own flocks, divided off of their family’s flock. While some of them have purebred flocks, the majority are into the commercial side of breeding and marketing. With all these little pieces being fit together, it will make for a larger and stronger industry in the future. OSN

A normal 4-H season covers many topics that provide vital information to young people about what they will be experiencing in the future of sheep. Sheep basics are talked about – caring for sheep, treating a sick sheep, showing a sheep, judging in and out of the show ring, and more. But as the meetings progress the members learn so much more than that. They learn how to choose a breed of sheep that would work for their personal flock, and will make them money in the future. They also learn good marketing times, how our marketing system functions, how to choose healthy, disease free sheep, and good flock management. Although good OSN M a r c h 2 0 1 2

FAMACHA – Where Does it Fit in to a Sustainable Integrated Parasite Control (sIPC) Program Roselen Marcy

n recent years, anthelmintic resistance has become a major issue for sheep producers worldwide. The worming techniques of the past have created a serious problem and in response to this, many producers are looking for alternative worming techniques. The FAMACHA system was developed in South Africa with the intent of helping producers to quickly identify animals that need treatment and more importantly, animals that DO NOT need treatment. There are several very important points to understand when investigating the FAMACHA system. 1. It is only designed as a tool to diagnose infestations of Haemonchus contortus (Barber Pole worms) 2. It should only be used as one tool in a sIPC program 3. When using the FAMACHA system, animals are allowed to become clinically anemic (i.e. sick) prior to worming so it is imperative that when you do worm, an effective wormer is used.

The basic principle of the FAMACHA system is that H. contortus, being a bloodsucking parasite will with severe infections cause mild to marked anemia. By examining the inside of the animal’s lower eyelids (conjunctiva), one can roughly judge by the colour, the severity of anemia and therefore the probable worm infestation. If the eyelids are pink, the animal does not require treatment for H. contortus infestation. If the eyelids are white, the program advises that the animal should be treated with an effective anthelmintic immediately. Unfortunately it’s not always as simple as that. As seen in Figure 1, the FAMACHA Anemia guide has five different stages - 1 being the best and 5 being the worst. It is important to note that an infestation of H. contortus is not the only possible cause of anemia; Hookworms, Liver Fluke, infections and nutritional deficiencies can all be causes of anemia. A recent study of gastrointestinal parasitism in Ontario and Quebec sheep flocks found a very poor correlation between the actual level

of anemia in the animals and the FAMACHA score (<10 %). There are many reasons for this and so FAMACHA s c o r e s must be used with Figure 1 extreme caution if selecting animals for treatment. It should not be used alone when monitoring the flock for parasites. Fecal eggs counts should also be monitored, particularly at high risk times (e.g. mid-summer). As previously mentioned, the FAMACHA test is only effective in detecting infection with Haemonchus contortus and not other important nematode parasites Hemonchus thrives in heat and humidity and therefore, in order for the FAMACHA system to be most accurate, flocks should be examined every 2 – 3 weeks by a properly trained person. It may be necessary to monitor the flock more frequently in warm wet weather. It is also important that the entire flock is examined. Since 20 – 30% of the flock can carry 70 – 80% of the worm load, checking 2 or three animals in the flock simply will not give you an accurate idea of whether you need to worm or not. The quality of the FAMACHA guide card is also important. It should be an original card, not a photo copy or print out. It should be replaced yearly and kept out of the sun when not in use. Continued on page 11.

There are three Small Ruminant Internal Parasite Seminars being offered in March and May. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about Diagnosing Gastrointestinal Parasitism, Anthelmintic Resistance and creating a sustainable Parasite Control Program. The dates for the seminars are as follows: March 20th in Floradale, March 29th in Napanee and May 2nd in New Liskeard. More information about these seminars can be found on the OSMA Website at www.ontariosheep.org. To register, please call 1-877-424-1300. The cost of registration is $35.00 + HST before March 12 and $50.00 +HST after March 12. This price includes lunch. 10

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Schmallenberg Virus in Europe Message from CFIA

he Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is closely monitoring the emergence of the Schmallenberg virus in ruminant livestock in Europe.

Based on what is known about this virus, and what we know about similar viruses, there does not appear to be any immediate danger to Canadian livestock. As well, there is no evidence to date that indicates the virus is associated with any human illness. Canada does not allow live cattle, sheep or goats to be imported from Europe. To allow for a harmonized response, the CFIA is working with US officials to gather information and assess the situation. The CFIA will also seek input from provincial and territorial governments and the livestock industry. More information will be shared as it becomes available.

biting flies). This makes direct animal-to-animal transmission unlikely. In Europe, it appears to be causing non-specific symptoms (fever, diarrhea, reduced milk yield, etc.) Born dead with abnormally flexed deformed and birth defects legs and a twisted spine. in ruminants. For more information on the Schmallenberg virus and the situation in Europe, visit http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/ diseases/schmallenberg_virus/index_en.htm or you can go to http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla/news/ for continuing updates and the number of animals affected. OSN

The Schmallenberg virus belongs to a group of viruses that is transmitted by vectors (that is, ticks, midges and

Continued from page 10 ~FAMACHA

It is of utmost importance to understand the limitations of the FAMACHA system and to obtain proper training before using it a diagnostic tool. The effects of improper use can be both disappointing and devastating. This article is meant to be for informational purposes only. Paula Menzies, Small Ruminant Research Coordinator at the University of Guelph says this about the FAMACHA System:

in years with high rainfall and warm temperatures – cool wet summers or hot dry summers, we don’t see it as often.[…] So while FAMACHA likely has a role, it is not useful in all flocks at all times of the year. Perhaps in sheep first year at pasture, late July to end of August – if performed to the whole at-risk portion of the flock every 2 weeks. But also remember that by the time the sheep is anemic, it is clinically very ill so FAMACHA should not replace a sustainable integrated control program.” OSN Sources

“FAMACHA was developed in South Africa where inputs are low and labour is cheap. It is used in high seasonal rainfall areas where Haemonchus is the predominant parasite. It is also used in South Eastern USA, where flock sizes are small and again Haemonchus is the predominant parasite. Our study of its use in Ontario Flocks was not encouraging, with a very poor prediction of anemia – although anemia was rare in our study, meaning that almost all sheep that were classified as anemic by FAMACHA, were actually OK. But that is likely because in Ontario, Haemonchus is not the important parasite at many times of the year. We know that most Haemonchus cases occur in the late summer, but only

Dr. Ray M. Kaplan, University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine. Open letter to sheep and goat producers regarding the FAMACHA Program. 7 February 2012 <http://www.scsrpc.org/SCSRPC/Files/FAMACHA%20response%20to%20 requests%20from%20producers%20v5.pdf>. FAMACHA. 7 February 2012 <http://www.vet.utk.edu/departments/LACS/pdf/ FAMACHA.pdf>. Haemonchus contortus and the FAMACHA system. 2 February 2012 <http://www. smallstock.info/tools/disease-nutrition/FAMACHA.htm>. Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator, Athens County and Buckeye Hills EERA. Use FAMACHA Correctly. 16 June 2010. 30 January 2012 <http://sheep.osu. edu/2010/06/16/373/>. Menzies, Paula. “Re: FAMACHA.” Email to C. Kennedy. 13 June 2011

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2012 Canadian Sheep Breeders’ Association Winter Update Constitutional Amendments

The CSBA board performed an extensive review of the CSBA’s constitution and prepared a notice of amendment to be voted on by all members. Two thirds of the members that respond must be in favour of the amendment before it will be adopted.

Annual General Meeting

The 2012 CSBA AGM will be held on Saturday, March 17, 2012 at the Legends Room in the People Centre, Stampede Park at 2402A 2nd Street SE, Calgary, Alberta starting at 10 AM. The Alberta Sheep Breeders’ Association will host lunch and reimburse parking costs.

2012 All Canada Sheep Classic

The Purebred Sheep Breeders’ Association of Nova Scotia is preparing to host the 2012 Classic in Truro, Nova Scotia. Entry and information packages were mailed out early in January. Entry forms and advertisements must be received by March 23, 2012. Please contact the CSBA office if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!

Proposed Import Protocol

The CFIA is in the process of reviewing and changing the protocol for sheep imported from the United States. In order to meet OIE’s (World Organization for Animal Health) standards for scrapie eradication, import requirements for male small ruminants will eventually need to be aligned more closely to those of females. Up until now, it has been possible to import rams from the US with relative ease. Although an exact date has not been provided, the proposed changes will likely be implemented in the latter half of 2012. When they take effect, the changes may only allow rams genotyped as RR or QR, those coming from ‘negligible risk’ flocks or those coming from and entering into a Scrapie Certification Program, to enter the country. If you have been considering importing rams, you should move quickly to avoid future restrictions.

Tattoos: 2012’s letter is “Z”

Breeders using tattoos for registering purebred sheep must tattoo: i) flock letters in the right ear, and ii) an identification number and year letter in the left year, by 100 days of age. It is important to remember that it is the SHEEP’S left and right ears (identified by standing behind the sheep). As an alternative to tattooing, a breeder may use a double tagging system with two tags approved and bearing the official identification number under the Canadian Sheep Identification Program. Applying permanently legible tattoos can be challenging. Illegible tattoos can cause serious problems at shows and sales, 12

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with parentage testing and with transferring breeding stock. Please review the following recommended tattoo technique suggested by the CLRC, Ketchum Inc. and experienced sheep breeders: 1. Insert the correct tattoo letters/numbers and check for correctness by clamping the pliers on a piece of paper. Depending on the size of your flock, a double or triple set of numbers may be required. 2. The ideal age to tattoo can vary by breed. Large eared breeds may be easiest to tattoo in the first week of life. Regardless of age, properly restrain the animal and clean the ear with alcohol to remove dirt, grease and wax. 3. Smear ink on the needles and on the skin. Place the tattoo parallel to and between the veins or cartilaginous ridges of the ear. The accidental piercing of a vein may spoil the tattoo. Use only fresh ink specified for use in animal tattoos. 4. Make the imprints with a quick firm movement and immediately apply more ink to the tattoo. Rub vigorously and continuously for at least 15 seconds or until bleeding stops. This is very important to ensure penetration. The most effective method is to rub thumb and forefinger, though a brush or cotton swab may be used. 5. Do not disturb the area, or remove excess ink, until the healing process is complete, which may be from 5 days to 21 days. 6. Use liquid dish detergent and a soft brush to clean the tattooer and dies after each use. 7. Keep a list of tattoo numbers with the names of animals in your private breeding record.

Learning From Others: A CSBA member’s actual experience

“Sooner or later, if you are in the business of selling rams, you will be faced with having to guarantee a ram. A purebred breeder purchased a registered ram lamb from our farm, but things did not work out as everyone had hoped. We agreed with the purchaser that the ram was to be culled, which would remove his genetic influence from the purebred sector. The purchaser reported that the ram had been sold and we refunded the difference between the purchase price and the salvage price to the purchaser. So far so good - we had been assured that the ram had been culled and we honoured our guarantee. Several years passed and progeny of the “culled ram” began to surface in other breeders’ pedigrees. Apparently, the ram in question had not been culled, as previously thought, and had in fact been sold to another purebred breeder, despite assurances by the purchaser to the contrary. Continued on page 13.

First in Canada

at Laxton, owner of Marley Hill Farm in Auburn Ontario, is excited to announce that she has the first registered Barbados Blackbelly flock in Canada. This breed reminded her of the Welsh Badger Face breed in the U.K. Cat recalls coming across a field of boar goats on the way to an appointment. Much to her surprise, there was a Barbados Blackbelly ewe in the middle of the group. “I braked hard, turned around and knocked at the door. He was a bit surprised, but after a little chat, I told him of my quest, and he agreed to sell the ewe to me, to join the others I had managed to find over seven years.” Cat is a member of the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International (BBSAI). In contrast to the American Blackbelly breed which has horns, the Barbados Blackbelly is a polled breed. The hair sheep feature black facial bars, and a body colour varying from light fawn through brown to dark red. Cat believes that non-seasonal breeding, excellent mothering ability, multiple births, easy keepers, parasite resistance, and a mild flavoured meat with low cholesterol are the strengths of this breed. On a trip to Maryland, Cat was

Continued from page 12 ~ 2012

Group of triplets, 2 gimmer lambs and 1 ram lamb are next on the progeny testing program, to be completed for December 2012.”

able to source ram lambs from a flock which originated from the Virginia State University research flock which represented some of the best genetics available. In addition to her Barbados Blackbelly flock, Cat also has a small flock of 130 breeding ewes which consist of Scottish Blackface, Rideau, Canadian Mule, Texel and Ile de France. For more information on Cat’s flock please visit, http:// www.marleysheepdogs.com/ OSN

Canadian Sheep Breeders’ Association Winter Update

The mistake that we made was not requesting that the paper on the “culled ram” be returned to us before the guarantee was honored. It is suggested that the signed transfer be returned to the seller and dated as agreed to (ideally the date of original purchase) by the two parties before the guarantee is honored. Seed stock producers invest considerable time and effort in the development of genetic lines and animals that are culled are usually done so for good reason. When handling issues of guarantees, the rights and responsibilities of both parties must be considered and protected.” The CSBA has developed Guidelines for the Sale of Registered Sheep, which is available on the CSBA’s website or by calling the office.

Master Shepherds’ Course

The Canadian Sheep Federation, in partnership with provincial sheep organizations, is responding to the need identified by Canadian producers for relevant production information. The plan is to offer a comprehensive continuing education program to assist lamb producers in building their farming enterprise. A survey has been created to help determine the specifics of what producers want access to. This is your opportunity to make your opinions known and to influence the content and format of the program. All responses will be

kept in confidence and combined with other responses in order to make recommendations and develop the program. Please contact Jennifer MacTavish at Jennifer@ cansheep.ca or 1-888684-7734 to receive a paper copy of the survey or complete it online at http://www. surveymonkey.com/s/ mastershepherds. For more information please contact the Canadian Sheep Breeders’ Association at office@sheepbreeders. ca or 1-866-956-1116. Or visit their website at www.sheepbreeders.ca OSN

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Heat Transfer in Sheep Production

Robert Chambers P Eng, Engineer, Swine and Sheep Housing and Equipment, OMAFRA Elora

appy sheep and lambs are essential to having a productive and profitable flock. Animals perform at their peak when they are in their thermoneutral zone. Sheep, like other livestock and poultry are homoeothermic; they maintain a relatively constant body temperature during changes in the environmental temperature changes. For sheep the core body temperature is 39°C (102.2°F). Internal body temperatures varying by only a few degrees from this temperature can be fatal.

Below point C, the extra heat produced cannot balance the heat lost, homeothermy fails, and the core temperature and heat production decline. Exposed for long enough, this can lead to death from cold, point D. Heat stress starts when the environmental temperature rises above point A’. The blood vessels in the skin surface enlarge so as to increase blood flow and the skin’s surface temperature. This increases the heat transfer rate to the environment. Sweating and increased respiration functions to increase the water vapour output and consequently latent heat output. The appetite is depressed to reduce body heat production in an attempt to reduce the body heat output (sensible heat). The upper critical temperature, point B’, is the limit to a radical change in heat production. At this point the respiration increases in intensity (panting) and heat production decreases partly due to decreased feed intake.

Figure 1. Homeothermic Heat Production and Body Temperature as Affected by Environmental Temperature. Midwest Plan Service Structures and Environment Handbook, 11th edition 1983. Figure 1 shows the relationship between homoeothermic heat production and body temperature. In the Zone of Thermal Comfort, blood vessels in the skin are neither all dilated nor all constricted, evaporation of moisture from the skin and respiratory tract are minimal, hair is not erected nor is there no observed behavioural response to heat or cold. When the temperature falls below point A, the blood flow is diverted to the body core away from the skin surface to reduce the heat flow from the skin. Hair tends to fluff up to reduce convective heat losses by increasing the insulation value of the hair/wool cover. As the temperature falls below point B, the lower critical temperature, heat production rises. This added heat protects the core temperature from falling and homeothermy is maintained. Increased feed intake sustains the increased metabolic rate. 14

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At point C’ the animal looses homeothermy because it can no longer increase moisture loss through mainly increased respiration and sweating. The ability for the animal to cool itself is maxed out. The animal may pant harder but the evaporation rate is almost constant. Hot, high humidity weather is detrimental to animals and humans, because the principle heat transfer method to cool the body, evaporation, is reduced by this type of weather. The core temperature begins to rise. This rise in body temperature triggers increased biochemical reactions which further increase heat production (the van’t Hoff effect). Without relief, the cycle leads to death, D’, though like extreme cold, exposure for only a few hours causes no lasting harm in most animals. Sheep, like all mammals attempt to gain and loose heat to the their surrounding environmental temperature in 4 ways, Conduction, Thermal Radiation, Convection and Evaporation in order to maintain their Zone of Homeothermy. Conduction is heat transfer between contacting bodies at different temperatures. Heat transfer from the body core to the skin surface occurs by conduction through the body tissue and also by convection associated with blood flow. Photo- Chris Boettcher

Sheep adjust conductive heat loss simply by changing the contact area. In sheep an example is young lambs huddling together with other animals and laying down on a heating manure pack in cold weather, or ewes standing up and away from other animals in warm weather. Thermal Radiation is the exchange of thermal energy between objects by electromagnetic waves. The rate depends on their temperatures and the nature of the surfaces. Radiation can pass through a vacuum and it warms the receiving body. The sun radiant heat load can be reduced 30% to 50% by shade. In sheep production practical examples include using an open front south facing building. Properly designed these structures allow the low angle winter sun to enter the barn in winter to warm and dry the interior of the barn. In summer, the high angle summer sun is blocked out allowing the majority of the barn to be shaded, reducing the solar heat load.

Sheep producers benefit in that that they can modify the ewe’s and mature lamb’s heat transfer rate by allowing the wool to grow for cool weather exposure or by shearing ewes for indoor winter lambing to approximately increase the ewe’s sensible heat output from 74 to 197 Watts thereby warming the barn and providing a drier indoor environment. The price of this though is the energy comes from increased feed consumption. Future articles will provide practical aspects of housing and landscaping that can be done to ensure that the animals remain in their optimal thermal comfort zone that provides maximum growth, productivity and feed utilization.

Convective heat is transferred to or from the animal by the mass movement of fluid. Natural or free convection results from differences in density caused by temperature differences. An example is that one kg of -10°C air has a volume of 750 litres and a density of 1.33g/litre, warmed to 20°C it now has a volume of 835 litres and a density of 1.2 g/litre. This property is used in natural ventilation systems to aid in the removal of stale air through chimneys. Fans or pumps (including the heart) produce fluid motion and heat transfer known as forced convection. Sheep exposed to high wind velocities and cold temperatures suffer from rapid heat losses. Evaporation or moisture removal through respiration and the skin surface is the fourth form of heat transfer with sheep. Every lb of water that is evaporated requires 1000 BTU’s of energy from the animal. In cold weather, evaporative losses are minimal. Evaporative losses are largely from the upper respiratory tracts. Exhaled air has been heated to near body temperature, 39°C, and saturated with vaporized water in the upper respiratory tract. Little water evaporation or air warming occurs in the lungs. Shorn sheep approximately double their evaporation rate over unshorn sheep due to the increased skin evaporation rate (sweating). Note though that shorn sheep are much more venerable to solar radiant heat gain lacking a thick wool cover. As the relative humidity in the air increases the rate of evaporation lowers. In reality it is usually not just one heat transfer acting alone that causes an animal to suffer from cold or heat stress but a combination of factors. Newborn lambs for example lacking a wool coat, wet and having a high surface area to mass ratio are particularly vulnerable to hypothermia (chilling). Figure 2 illustrates the different heat losses resulting from the combinations of wind and wet. A lamb having low brown fat reserves (its energy) and/or exposed for long enough duration with out colostrums soon lacks fuel for its furnace and dies from exposure.

Figure 2. The effect of wind, environmental temperature and wetness on heat loss in newborn lambs. [From Alexander, G. (1962), Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 13, 82

Acknowledgments:

This article was adapted primarily from the Midwest Plan Service Structures and Environment Handbook, 11th edition 1983. Also used was information from the Canadian Farm Buildings Handbook 1988 and the Transactions of the ASAE paper Respiratory Fraction of Total Insensible Heat Loss from Shorn and Unshorn Sheep, W.H. Brown and M.D. Shanklin, 1970. OSN

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New Projection Shows Global Food Demand Doubling by 2050

lobal food demand could double by 2050, according to a new projection reported this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The analysis also shows that the world faces major environmental challenges unless agricultural practices change. Scientists David Tilman and Jason Hill of the University of Minnesota (UMN) and colleagues found that producing the amount of food needed could significantly increase levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the environment, and may cause the extinction of numerous species. These problems can be avoided, the researchers say, if the high-yielding technologies of wealthier nations are adapted to work in poorer nations, and if all countries use nitrogen fertilizers more efficiently. In their paper, the scientists explore various ways of meeting the demand for food, and their environmental effects.

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The options, they found, are to increase productivity on existing agricultural land, clear more land, or a combination of both.

“Ever increasing global demands for food pit environmental health against human prosperity,” said Saran Twombly, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Division of Environmental Biology, which funded the research. “These assessments show that agricultural intensification, through improved agronomic practices and technology transfer, best ensure the latter with minimal costs to the former,” Twombly said. “The results challenge wealthy nations to invest technologically in underyielding nations to alter the current global trajectory of agricultural expansion,” she believes. “Identifying the economic and political incentives needed to realize this investment is the critical next step.” The environmental effects of meeting the demand for food depend on how global agriculture expands. The research shows that adopting nitrogen-efficient “intensive” farming can meet future global food demand with much lower environmental effects, vs. the “extensive” farming practiced by many poor nations, which clears land to produce more food. The potential benefits are great, the researchers believe.

They also consider various scenarios in which the amount of nitrogen use, land cleared, and resulting greenhouse gas emissions differ. “Agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions could double by 2050 if current trends in global food p r o d u c t i o n continue,” Tilman said. “This would be a major problem, since global agriculture already accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions.”

In 2005, crop yields for the wealthiest nations were more than 300 percent higher than yields for the poorest nations. “Strategically intensifying crop production in developing and least-developed nations would reduce the overall environmental harm caused by food production, as well as provide a more equitable food supply across the globe,” said Hill. If poorer nations continue current practices, they will clear a land area larger than the United States (two and a half billion acres) by 2050. But if richer nations help poorer nations to improve yields, that number could be reduced to half a billion acres. “Our analyses show that we can save most of the Earth’s remaining ecosystems,” said Tilman, “by helping the poorer nations of the world feed themselves.” Scientists Christian Balzer of the University of California Santa Barbara and Belinda Befort of UMN are also co-authors of the paper. OSN

Photo: Scott Cullen

U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Updated: December 5, 2011

CURRENT PRODUCERS ON THE GENOVIS PROGRAM Anne & David Hartley • Hartley Farm • 519-369-2438 Lloyd Skinner • Spring Hill Farm • 905-263-8167 Colleen Acres Maple Meadow Farms • 613-826-2330 Donna Aziz • Roly Poly Farms • 905-852-9252 Ted & Allison Brown Brown Woolies • 905-877-2323 Muriel Burnett • Burndale Farm • 705-887-6512 Grant Cowan • 705-436-2236 Shane Cramp • A & S Livestock • 705-835-7665 Judy & Henry Dening The Shepherd’s Gate • 705-324-3453 Bill & Lynne Duffield Codan Suffolds • 519-899-2663 Leslie Dyment • Crow Hill Farm • 705-359-1376 Vicki & Harry Elsinga Brookwater Farms • 902-886-2729 Don Emke • Tall Oaks Farm • 519-364-2149 Shelagh Finn • Lamb Lady Farm • 647-932-7102 Robert & Shirley Graves Century Lane Farm • 613-831-2656 Tina Harrington • Stonehill Sheep • 519-794-3732 Karen Hayward Trillium Woods Sheep • 519-271-8487 Aaron Horst • 519-698-2618 Michael Huffman St. Benedicts Acres • 613-756-9016 Peter Hyams • Somerset Farm • 613-473-5244 Nancy Ireland • Flying Ewe Farm • 905-701-6026 Robert & Gail Irvine Rocky Lane Farm • 705-292-7207 Ken & Jane Isaac Ken and Jane Isaac • 705-534-4237 Irwin Jackson • Strathearl Farm • 519-856-4490 Bethanee Jensen • Shepherd’s Fold • 519-887-9948 Chris Kennedy • Topsy Farms Ltd. • 613-389-0554 Tim Farquhar, Laurel Strachan • 519-665-7813 William Mactaggart Mactaggart Suffolks • 519-824-3878 Scott Prudom • Prudom Farms • 519-845-3998 Florence Pullen • Shillalah Farm • 519-233-7896 Ross & Clementine Savasi J & J Farms • 705-652-7477 Pam Shepherd • Thunder Hill Farm • 905-986-1874 Ted Skinner • Cedar Creek Charollais • 905-263-2102 Philip & Elizabeth Smith Breezy Ridge Farm • 905-478-4280 John & Eadie Steele John & Eadie Steele • 705-696-1491 Greg Stubbings Gilmer-Stubbings Farm • 613-774-4563 Matt Swart • Generation Farms • 519-887-6317 Mike & Linda Thompson Mik-Lin Farms • 905-476-0530 Keith Todd Todd Sheep Company Inc • 519-528-2650 Gordon Walker • Orchardview Farm • 519-287-5085 Francis Winger • Francis Winger • 519-323-3531 Bill McCutcheon Mulmur Vista Farm • 519-928-9626

CURRENT PRODUCERS ON MAEDI-VISNA PRODUCER NAME Robert & Gail Irvine Joanne T Ted Skinner Robert & Shirley Graves Heather & Robert Kelly John & Eadie Steele Glen & Sharon Duff Neil & Heidi Bouman Axel Meister William MacTaggart Gordon Walker Garry & Beth Collins Tina Harrington Gerald & Joanne Hunter Bethane Jensen Francis & Elaine Winger Riva Berezowski & Steve Vidacs Ted Brown Gary Lapier Karen Hayward William Jeffrey Harry & Eleanor Pietersma Emmerson & Lisa Turney Cory & Jennifer Beitz Kevin McComb Shelagh Finn Ryan Schill

FARM NAME Rocky Lane Farm Cedar Creek Charollais Century Lane Farm Greenwood Farm Duff Farms Wooldrift Farm MacTaggart Suffolk Orchardview Farm Collins Horned Dorsets Stonehill Sheep Hunterdown Farm Shepherd’s Fold Cedar Ridge Farm Brown Woolies Farm Rocky Hyland Farm Trillium Woods Sheep Elysian Fields Wo-Nikk-El Heights Beitz View Acres Lamb Lady Farm Circle R. Livestock Ltd.

TELEPHONE 705-292-7207 905-263-2102 613-831-2656 519-369-5396 705-696-1491 519-856-9935 519-750-9928 519-538-2844 519-824-3878 519-287-5085 519-934-3239 519-794-3732 613-283-7565 519-887-9948 519-323-3531 519-371-7314 905-877-2323 613-989-2792 519-371-8487 519-234-6872 613-652-2044 519-848-6877 519-367-2589 519-348-8331 647-932-7102 519-669-4146

CURRENT PRODUCERS ON ONTARIO SHEEP HEALTH PROGRAM PRODUCER NAME Bill & Lyne Duffield Robert & Gail Irvine Francis & Elaine Winger John & Eadie Steele Colleen Acres Darry & Rachel Stoltz Anne Dockendorff Wietza & Leny Raven Shelagh Finn

FARM NAME Codan Suffolks Rocky Lane Farm Maple Meadow Farms Excel Ewe Genetics Silver Rapids Farm Green Hill Farm Lamb Lady Farm

TELEPHONE 519-899-2663 705-292-7207 519-323-3531 705-696-1491 613-826-2581 519-887-8216 705-724-9183 519-928-2705 647-932-7102

SHEEP PRODUCERS ON THE SCRAPIE PROGRAM PRODUCER NAME Bill McCutcheon Axel Meister Bill & Lynne Duffield Francis & Elaine Winger Mels & Ruthanne van der Laan Riva Berezowski & Steve Vidacs Peter Carrie & Susan McDonough Glen & Judy Porteous Paul Dick & Tina Harrington Nicole Heath Bryan & Janice Lever Brad & Gerald Miller Roger & Julie Harley Robert & Shirley Graves & Sons Sara & Jamie Scholtes Joshua & Melissa Groves Chris Wiltshire Leigh Nelson & Luc Pouliot Karen & Jim Hayward Robert & Laurie I’Anson Chris Kennedy Shelagh Finn

FARM NAME TELEPHONE Mulmar Vista Farms, Grand Valley, Ontario Wooldrift Farm, Markdale, Ontario Codan Suffolks, Wyoming, Ontario Mount Forest, Ontario Cold Stream Ranch, Denfield, Ontario Cedar Ridge Farm, Owen Sound, Ontario Smokey Creek Farm, Arthur, Ontario Stonehill Sheep, Chatsworth, Ontario Veliraf Farm, Conn, Ontario Windblest Farm, Lanark, Ontario Miller Farms, Kerwood, Ontario Keene, Ontario Century Lane Farms, Stittsville, Ontario Harmony Marsh Farm, Bailieboro, Ontario VanGro Farms, Brantford, Ontario Iternal Impressions, Bath, Ontario Bent Willow, Kapuskasing, Ontario Trillium Woods Sheep, Shallow Lake, Ontario St. Catherines, Ontario Topsy Farms, Stella, Ontario Lamb Lady Farm 647-932-7102 OSN M a r c h 2 0 1 2

Change is Inevitable Laurie Nicol, OIMP Executive Director

he Ontario Independent Meat Processors Association (OIMP) has been providing leadership for Ontarioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meat and poultry industry for over 30 years by fostering innovation, promoting food safety and integrity, and recognizing excellence. OIMP has a voluntary-based membership and currently represents 192 meat processors including abattoirs, processors, and butchershops. OIMP understands the needs of small family owned/operated businesses with over 70% of our members employing 10 employees or less. Our number one commitment is to food safety while ensuring the industry is strong and prosperous. The industry is continually responding to changes based on consumer demands and food safety concerns. There are over 700 meat plants located across Ontario (federally registered or provincially licensed), that provide a significant contribution to Ontarioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy and local communities. These companies are committed to producing safe food with government oversight to ensure integrity and safety. Food safety standards must be dictated by the level of risk associated with the products being manufactured. Microorganisms do not differentiate based on the number of employees making the product, the amount of product being produced, the square footage of the facility in which the product is being produced, the customer type, or the geographic distribution of the product (local or provincewide). The potential for food borne illness is on the rise with new pathogens emerging, increased awareness of allergies, increased aged population, and ingredients from 3rd world countries. Although many food borne illnesses go unreported, technology today and information networks have made it increasingly easy to trace back the source of contamination regarding an outbreak. The meat industry is a very traditional sector with long standing, customary family practices and adapting to change takes time, money, attitude, and forward thinking. Acting on the recommendations from Justice Haines in 2004, Ontario Meat Regulation 31/05, which is science-based, outcomeoriented, and includes many elements of a HACCP program was enacted in 2005 with graduating licensing. Some plant operators made business decisions to stop slaughtering and remain processing, some processors stopped manufacturing

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and remain operating a butcher shop sourcing product from other licensed plants, while some plants upgraded to Federal Standards. Regardless of size, all businesses make decisions based on a number of factors - not regulatory burdens alone. The closure of any local businesses, whether big or small, is of concern to everyone as the impact on communities is significant. There has been much focus on closures however in fact, there have been expansions - just last week we had three inquiries for individuals wanting to start a business. In 1995 there were over 300 abattoirs across the province with many regions having four or five plants competing for the same animals and cutting and wrapping service. We do recognize that today there are certain areas of the province that are under-serviced. The decline in the number of abattoirs can be attributed to a number of issues including the decline in livestock production (as reported by Statistics Canada), which relates to decreased business for abattoirs. The change of eating habits means smaller more specific cuts leaving the plant to deal with whole carcass utilization. The economics to operate an abattoir with rising overhead costs, loss of revenue from by-products and hides, and additional charges to deal with the removal of specified risk material has historically not been reflected in the cost of providing service therefore limiting reinvestment in the business. To assist the industry in meeting regulatory requirements, OIMP provides technical support and services to plant operators through our Technical Director and Meat Extension Specialist, providing answers and solutions to plant operatorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; operational challenges. Since 2008 OIMP has made over 1,700 plant visits. OIMP provided 317 FREE independent assessments to determine what investment would be required to meet full compliance with the regulation. We developed a Standard Operating Procedure Manual tool to help plants with written programs and over 40 record-keeping templates. To date we have distributed 237 manuals and have helped over 90 plants with written programs and recording keeping. Through our monthly workshops we have provided information to plants with such operational issues as Product Costing, Paperwork in Meat Plants, Sanitation, Fermentation & Dry Curing, Packaging & Labelling, and How to Conduct Continued on page 19.

Getting Sheep-Shape with Ontario Farm Fresh Gary Johnson, Ontario Farm Fresh

number of Sheep Producers who deal directly with the public from their property are not only members of the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency but also hold membership in Ontario Farm Fresh. Here’s why. We assist our members in enhancing their marketing skills and we do this through 10 Fresh Facts newsletters a year, workshops dealing with on-farm market topics, webinars, a yearly bus tour of both in province and out of province on-farm markets, peer group networking, farm marketing resource materials, access to marketing consultants, and on-farm market research. We also try to motivate the consumer to visit on-farm markets and we do this thorough our active find-a-farm promotion on the Ontario Farm Fresh web site. We also do this through advertising and exhibiting at consumer trade shows as well as social media – Twitter, Facebook, You Tube. Along with this, we work closely with the publisher of Harvest Ontario, a comprehensive publication listing Continued from page 18 ~ Change

is Inevitable

a Mock Recall. Providing a strong voice to government is paramount. OIMP members rely on us to seek clarification on regulatory barriers and operational issues, affect policy changes and provide guidance on addressing problems relating to the challenges of working in a highly regulated environment. Through the OIMP Technical Committee we are able to seek broader industry input and provide this information to OMAFRA through our regularly meetings with senior management and through our participation on the Policy Review Committee. We continue to lobby government for financial assistance like the Meat Plant Assistance Program for plants complying with the 2005 regulation, Rural Economic Development Fund and federal programs such as the Food Safety Traceability program.

rural agri-tourism businesses including sheep producer enterprises, which is distributed through the Home Hardware network. All of our members are listed in it with details of farm location, contact information as well as product highlights. Consumers use Harvest Ontario as a reference throughout the entire year. If you are marketing your lamb directly to the consumer from your property, you really should take advantage of what Ontario Farm Fresh has to offer. As an introduction to Ontario Farm Fresh, we would like to offer any workshop or webinar we run for our members to members of OSMA at the same cost. Workshops that are planned for 2012 include marketing, hiring and retaining employees, and risk management. For information on the workshops, contact Cathy Bartolic at (905) 841-9278 or cathy@ontariofarmfresh.com For information on membership contact Gary Johnson at (905) 726-3356 or go to www.ontariofarmfresh.com and click on Join Us. OSN OIMP’s Ontario Meat and Poultry marketing strategy involves all partners in the value chain, and working closely with our commodity partners like Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency. With consumer outreach through social media, traffic is directed to member profiles appearing in our product locator at www.ontariomeatproducts.ca. Visitors also have access to nearly 100 recipes including 13 for lamb, and a logo and link to www.lambrecipes.ca is prominently placed in the webpage footer. Members supplying retail can access OIMP branding programs such as Homegrown Ontario™, Ontario Finest Meat Competition™ Award Winning Product, and Ontario’s Heritage Meat™. Finally, for foodservice, our current BPSF project has indentified fresh lamb opportunities. Our industry has made significant changes and financial investments in facilities and food safety systems. We must continue to work together under a sustainable business model that includes a solid, loyal customer base with increased market opportunities supported by a strong regulatory system. If you have questions regarding this article, please contact OIMP Executive Director Laurie Nicol at 519-763-4558. OSN OSN M a r c h 2 0 1 2

Timelines Towards Mandatory RFID Tags Canadian Sheep Federation

Since July 1st 2011 Ketchum pink Kurl lock #3 and Allflex pink dangle tags are no longer available for sale from the manufacturers, Ketchcum and Allflex, as official Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP) tags.

Since October 1st 2011 Producers can no longer purchase the Ketchum pink Kurl lock #3 and Allflex pink dangle tags as official Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP) tags.

Since January 1st 2012 Producers are encouraged to tag all animals born or tagged after this date with CSIP approved RFID tags (Shearwell yellow Data SET tag or Allflex yellow RFID Button Tag); Producers need to carefully monitor their stocks and use up inventory of the Ketchum pink Kurl lock #3 and Allflex pink dangle tags as they will be officially removed from the list of approved tags for the CSIP in the near future. The objective is to have the tags decommissioned by 31 December 2012.

As of January 1st 2013 If the decommissioning process has been successful, resulting in minimal numbers of the non-RFID tags still in circulation, the Ketchum Kurl lock #3 and the Allflex dangle tags will be officially removed from the list of approved tags for the CSIP and will no longer be accepted from this date forward at sales, abattoirs or by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for shipping, transfer or sale of sheep in Canada.

Decommissioning of non-RFID tags

During 2012, CSF will work with the CFIA to assess the levels of Allflex Dangle and Ketchum Kurl Lock tags till circulating at abattoirs and auction marts across Canada. The objective is to have a minimal number of the non-RFID tags still in circulation in order to decommission the tags.

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In June 2010, the Canadian Sheep Federation approved a motion to move the sheep industry towards mandatory RFID tags. This decision was given a great deal of consideration. Not only does an RFID system help sheep producers meet anticipated traceability requirements, it also gives producers and opportunity to move the industry forward. Government continues to support a mandate to phase in the necessary infrastructure to allow for the tracing of products and food animals from the point of origin (the farm) to the consumer. As such, the sheep industry, in conjunction with other species that have either chosen to move forward and/or were considered one of the priority species with sheep (i.e. beef, swine and poultry), continue to discuss with government what a comprehensive national traceability system will look like. With the necessary infrastructure in place, identified commodities will continue to work with government to develop regulations that will facilitate a comprehensive traceability system. As primary producers, implementation of new technologies by those further down the value chain requires having animals equipped with RFID tags in order to test and use those technologies. In the end, all those along the value chain will be required to comply with new regulations once in place. CSF remains committed to working closely with provincial organizations to provide them with timely communication, information and education required to make sure the RFID system provides a positive return for the industry. We strongly believe that this continues to be the right decision for our industry. And weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re confident it will play a key role in helping us realize our tremendous potential. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Canadian Sheep Federation at info@cansheep.ca or 1-888-684-7739. OSN Source: CSF From the Flock, January 2012, Volume 9, Issue 1, www.cansheep.ca

Fishmeal Supplementation During Pregnancy Protects Fetal Lambs From Maternal Stress Rebecca Fisher, Graduate Student, University of Guelph

mega-3 fatty acids have been in the news a lot lately because of their human health benefits. They have potent anti-inflammatory properties for example, that are beneficial for treating infections and certain inflammatory diseases. Human and animal studies have demonstrated that stress during pregnancy, such as that experienced during an infection, adversely effects development of the fetal neuroendocrine and immune systems, which can lead to disease later in life. Dr. Niel Karrow ‘s lab from the department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Guelph has been investigating if supplementing ruminant diets with omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy helps to protect offspring from maternal stress during gestation. With the help of staff at the OMAFRA Ponsonby Sheep Research Station, Karrow’s lab carried out a study that involved feeding pregnant and lactating sheep a fishmeal supplement that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. On gestation day 135, she stressed the pregnant ewes by administering an injection of bacterial endotoxin- this triggers a stress response similar to that experienced during an infection. The stress hormone (cortisol) response was measured in the lambs during weaning and during a bacterial endotoxin challenge at 6 months of age. They found that lambs from fishmeal-supplemented mothers that had been stressed with endotoxin had a rapid increase in their cortisol response during both weaning and bacterial endotoxin challenge; while lambs from mothers that were fed a ‘typical’ soybean meal-based diet demonstrated a blunted response. Based on these results it is apparent that maternal endotoxin challenge alters programming of the lamb’s cortisol response, with females being more sensitive than males, and that

fishmeal supplementation helps to protect offspring against this form of maternal stress. Dr. Karrow states, “given prevalence of inflammatory diseases such as mastitis, acidosis, and Johne’s disease, it is highly likely that that this type of fetal programming is occurring in our various livestock species. Although we are only beginning to understand the health implications of this phenomenon, human studies have demonstrated that it can increase the risk of inflammatory diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease during adulthood.” This research emphasizes the importance of omega-3 supplementation during pregnancy as a means to promote offspring health. OSN

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Photo credit OLPC

On-Farm Biosecurity Tools Being Developed

Susan Fitzgerald, Ontario Livestock and Poultry Council

he Ontario Livestock and Poultry Council is developing some on-farm resources to help farmers implement improved biosecurity. Biosecurity is a term we have come to hear frequently in recent years and can conjure up images of surveillance systems, security fences, complicated sanitizing processes, audits and inspections. However, biosecurity is really just the protection of livestock, poultry and crops from any type of infectious agent whether viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic. Among the many biosecurity procedures that can prevent disease transmission are some simple measures which have little or no cost associated with them. In fact, you may already be following many good biosecurity practices on your farm without realizing it.

Photo credit OLPC

The first step is to know the risks to your enterprise; understand the ways your animals can be exposed to disease and then take steps to minimize these risks. Putting sound biosecurity practices into place often does not require major capital investment, only management and planning changes. The material being produced by OLPC include: a biosecurity binder/workbook, a biosecurity video, information poster for farm workers and suppliers, and on-farm biosecurity signs. The resources present some relatively easy to implement, generic biosecurity practices for livestock operations which will reduce the risk of disease entry and transmission on your farm. It is not an exhaustive list by any means but is intended as a starting point. Each small step is an added level of protection against disease and will enhance your disease prevention and biosecurity risk management system. Some herd owners spend thousands of dollars each year fighting disease outbreaks. In addition to the costs of health care, valuable livestock and production are also lost. While

How it can happen Disease can be transferred through manure, aerosol or nose-to-nose contact, pets, wildlife, or through a variety of animal body fluids (semen, urine, colostrum). It can also be introduced by humans through touch or nasal fluids, footwear, sewage, contaminated meat, transport vehicles (manure haulers, front-end loaders) and feed. Sharing equipment may also be a way to unknowingly share disease between farms. 22

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diseases that lead to livestock mortalities are the most obvious and urgently treated, there are a large number of insidious production limiting diseases which have a significant affect on the economic viability of the farming operation. An advantage of a good biosecurity program is that it will reduce the spread of endemic disease (local diseases) such as PPRS in hogs and Johne’s disease in ruminants as well as foreign animal diseases. On-farm biosecurity practices will also help reduce the spread of potential human pathogens such as Salmonella spp., Listeria spp., E.coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter spp. At the national and international level, maintenance of the highest possible animal health and biosecurity status is vitally important to the sustainability and profitability of the Canadian agricultural sector. Future access to markets will increasingly depend on our ability to demonstrate • reduce productivity, freedom from serious animal • affect farm incomes and diseases and pests. animal welfare, National biosecurity • increase veterinary and standards are currently labour costs, being developed for several • close export markets, commodities and will be rolled out over the next two • affect domestic to four years. The standards consumption, and currently under development • reduce prices that by the Canadian Food producers receive Inspection Agency include for their animals and beef, dairy, sheep, goats, products. mink, bees, potatoes and grain/oilseeds. Equine and In addition to adverse cervids are planned for the effects on the agricultural next phase of development. economy, there can also National standards for be negative impacts to the poultry were published environment and human in 2009 and the Canadian health. Swine Health Board issued standards for the swine sector in 2010. These standards are voluntary and are designed to be complimentary to any existing commodity-developed on-farm food safety program and/or good agricultural production practices. The generic material produced by OLPC is a good starting point for livestock farmers to begin thinking about biosecurity practices on farm. The national standards will be more specific to your particular commodity practices. OLPC is also producing a biosecurity manual for plant agriculture.

Disease and pests can:

More information regarding these resources, as well as electronic versions for downloading, will be available on OLPC’s website www.ontlpc.ca by June 1st or by contacting our office. OSN

New Sheep Biosecurity Calculator

here is now a new cost calculator relating to biosecurity available for sheep producers. This useful tool uses Q fever as an example in order to illustrate how devastating a production limiting disease or a disease outbreak can be to your flock and farm business. The financial impact calculated can give you an idea of how moderate or severe outbreaks can affect your business. This Excel spreadsheet requires you to enter data such as breeding information (including number born, number weaned / marketed, etc), meat information (including average live market weight, number marketed, expense costs, etc) and milk information (including average lactation duration, expense costs, etc). By knowing how a disease outbreak will affect your farm you can take steps in order to try and avoid outbreaks. Implementing a biosecurity protocol, quarantining new animals and keeping good records are all ways of preventing a disease outbreak. This calculator is part of a joint multi-phase project partnership between Ontario Sheep, the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association, Ontario Veal, Ontario Rabbit and Ontario Goat. This project is intended to help to address and identify biosecurity gaps in various livestock sectors. If you have other livestock on your farm, download the biosecurity calculator for your specific species.

Download the Sheep Biosecurity Calculator

Go to www.agbiosecurity.ca find the reference documents tab and then click on the sheep tab. Now you can download the sheep calculator. The user guide and Statement of Purpose and Limitation of Liability are also available for download. These documents can help you to understand the calculator further. This project was funded in part through Growing Forward, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The Agricultural Adaptation Council assists in the delivery of several Growing Forward programs in Ontario. OSN

“Funding for this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP). In Ontario, this program is delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council.”

Upcoming Events Purebred Sheep Breeders of Ontario

Ottawa Valley Farm Show

Purebred Sheep Breeders of Ontario present their Annual Show and Sale. Saturday July 7 2012 at Carson’s Auction in Listowel Ontario. Offering Top Quality Purebred Genetics and a fine selections of Commercial ewes. For entry information on the sale call: Irwin Jackson 519 856 4490 or Jim Driscoll 519 638 5703 www.psbo.ca

Tuesday - March 13 to Thursday - March 15, 2012 - the Annual Ottawa Valley Farm Show. OSMA will be sponsoring a booth again this year at the new CE Centre near the air port. We are looking for volunteers to man the booth for a few hours. This is always a great farm event and should be very interesting this year with the new facilities able to house all displays indoors in one spot.

North Wellington Co-Op Sheep Day 2012

Saturday - March 24, 2012 - District 9 Education Day - this will be held at the Horton Community Centre from 9 AM to 12 noon. Guest speakers will talk about Ram Fertility and Ram and Ewe Nutrition. OSN

Sautrday March 10th, 8am – 3pm Mount Forest & District Sports Complex To Register or for more information, contact: Sarel, Mary Lynn or Doris – North Wellington Co-op at: 519-323-1271 or email: ssmit@nwcfs.com

District 9 Education Day

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Q Fever Outbreaks Expensive Hits for Sheep Farms New cost calculator illustrates on-farm financial impacts of Q Fever By Lilian Schaer

new animal disease model that puts a cost on an outbreak of Q Fever on a sheep farm underlines the importance of trying to keep a flock disease-free.

A low impact outbreak of Q Fever in a 400-ewe sheep breeding and meat flock could cost the operation up to $3,500 and a high impact outbreak up to $24,500. Those figures were generated by the model based on 2009 cost and revenue data provided by real Ontario producers. The program, built in an Excel spreadsheet, calculates the financial impact of moderate or severe outbreaks of specific diseases on sheep, goat, beef, veal and rabbit farms. This includes Q Fever in sheep, Caprine Arthritis and Encephalitis in goats, Bovine Viral Diarrhea in cattle, Mycoplasmosis in veal and Pasteurellosis in rabbits. Producers must input a series of data in the spreadsheet, such as feed costs, average daily gain, mortality rates and others, depending on the particular commodity in order for the model to generate results. For one Ontario sheep farmer who has been through a Q Fever outbreak, the results of the cost calculator weren’t a surprise, but confirmed her own experiences with the disease. “The cost calculator was quite impressive and clearly showed the significant loss in income as we experienced through our Q Fever episode. Certainly we weren’t surprised by the bottom line,” she says, but added that the impact is even more dramatic when the period after an outbreak is assessed as well, especially since their ewes lamb on an accelerated system, meaning three times in two years. “The 35 per cent abortion rate we experienced during the outbreak carried into the next two lambings as well by significantly altering our numbers of lambing ewes,” she explains. “It either greatly reduced the lambing ewe numbers, thereby dropping the number of lambs born, or increased the number of ewes lambing, which created a logistics issue with available barn space which puts even more stress on ewes and their lambs.” Having been through the experience, she advises other sheep farmers to consider maintaining a closed flock as a way of keeping the disease at bay. They raise their own replacement stock to avoid bringing new animals into the flock. The organism is still on-farm – it can survive quite easily 24

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in the natural environment – but its presence is mitigated by the tremendous immune response from affected animals.

What is Q Fever and what to look out for

Q Fever is a zoonotic disease, which means it can spread from animals to humans. The disease is commonly identified through a high percentage of spontaneous abortions. The disease normally appears during and right after lambing season as the organism is shed into the environment through birth fluids and the placenta of infected animals, as well as through milk, urine and manure. There are other causes of abortion in sheep as well, so lab tests are often needed to diagnose Q Fever conclusively. This extra effort and cost often results in up to half of all sheep abortions remaining undiagnosed. Q Fever is very resistant to heat, extreme dryness and many common disinfectants. It generally can’t be treated in sheep, but good flock management and implementation of strict control practices can prevent it from recurring. In humans, Q Fever can result in flu-like symptoms, pneumonia and/or heart problems. It lasts seven to fourteen days and is treatable with antibiotics.

Isolation protocols

• Restrict access to aborted materials and remove them quickly. • Separate animals that have aborted from the rest of the flock. • Clean and disinfect lambing areas as completely as possible. • Implement enhanced biosecurity between sick pens and/or quarantine areas and the rest of the flock. • Avoid direct contact between sick and healthy animals within a group or between adjacent pens. • Ensure healthy and sick sheep to not eat or drink from the same feed or water sources. • Quarantine or isolate new additions or animals returning to the farm from other locations, like shows, events, etc. • Train your staff in biosecurity measures. This project is part of a new, multi-phase project partnership between Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency, Continued on page 25.

Pucks N’ Purls

Edna Zuber of the Downtown Knitters Guild

n February 11, 268 knitters and their families from southern Ontario descended on Ricoh Coliseum, home of the Toronto Marlies, and coincidently, the Royal Winter Fair, with their knitting bags in tow. They were there for Pucks N’ Purls, a family oriented event to celebrate knitting and hockey, organized by the Toronto Marlies hockey club and Downtown Knit Collective (DKC), a Toronto knitting guild. Hockey and knitting - together at last. The highlight was a professional hockey game between the Toronto Marlies and the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League. Fans were thrilled when the Marlies won 5-1. Unfortunately, the Marlies good fortune did not translate to their NHL affiliate, the Toronto Maple Leafs. They lost later that night to the Bulldogs affiliate, the Montreal Canadiens. But for Pucks N’ Purls ticket holders there was much more to the day. There were forty one door prizes from seventeen generous Wannietta Prescod & Linda Benne competing k n i t t i n g vendors. in the Fastest Knitter Face Off Knitters (or their husbands or sons or daughters) won pattern books, knitting notions, fabulous yarns and a special treat, a set of AddiClick interchangeable needles. Indigodragonfly, a company producing hand dyed yarns in Haliburton, produced a limited run of merino sock yarn for the event named “Just one Stanley Cup in my lifetime; is that too much to ask?” Pucks N’ Purls was privileged to provide space to Streetknit Project (wesite: streetknit.ca) to assist in collecting hand knitted Continued from page 24 ~ Q

garments and yarn to knit more for the homeless in our community and to raise awareness about this grassroots Denise Powell presents Duke the Dog with a organization. personally designed Scarf The DKC organized a design contest among it members to create a toque or scarf for Duke the Dog, the Marlies mascot. Denise Powell, who won the contest, knitted up her scarf design in Cascade 220 Superwash wool and presented it to Duke at the beginning of the second period. Duke showed his gratitude by tossing dozens and dozens of yarn balls into the Pucks N’ Purls stands - a knitter’s dream. Southern Ontario has two women who hold the fastest knitter titles for North America (Linda Benne) or Canada (Wannietta Prescod). Linda and Wannietta competed in the Pucks N’ Purls Fastest Knitter Face Off during the second intermission. Fans were pumped for the contest after watching a biography of these two incredibly fast, competitive knitters. It was a close match, watched by all on the Jumbotron. Wannietta was the victor but both contestants vowed to win a rematch next year. Pucks N’ Purls families finished off the afternoon with an hour long skate on Marlies ice. What a great memory for young and old. It was a great day and there are calls for an encore next year. Check the DKC website www. downtownknitcollective.ca next fall for updates. You don’t have to be a knitter to attend; you just have to like being with knitters and appreciation of good yarn is an asset. OSN

Fever Outbreaks Expensive Hits for Sheep Farms

Ontario Cattlemen’s Association, Ontario Veal Association, Ontario Rabbit and Ontario Goat to identify, quantify and address biosecurity gaps and build the livestock industry’s emergency preparedness capabilities. Funding was provided in part through Growing Forward, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The Agricultural Adaptation Council assists in the delivery of several Growing

Forward programs in Ontario. The disease calculator model will be available for download from www.agbiosecurity.ca. To access resources on reducing disease risk to your flock or for more information, please contact the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency at (519) 8360043 or general@ontariosheep.org. OSN

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Code of Practice for Wool Preparation From Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers Website

o enable Canadian wool growers to achieve better wool preparation and higher financial returns the following are the recommended guidelines.

1) All sheep need to be emptied out before shearing. i.e. No feed or water to be administered to the sheep for a minimum of 12 hours prior to shearing. By carrying out this practice the sheep’s stomach and bladder will be empty and therefore the wool does not become contaminated with dung and urine. The sheep will also sit better for shearing as they do not struggle the same which enables the shearing process to be easier for both the shearer and the sheep. Never shear wet wool or pack wet wool. 2) The belly wool needs to be kept completely separate from the fleece wool. The shearer should remove and throw the belly aside as the sheep is being shorn, belly wool to be packed separately. 3) All short, stained wool and tags need to be removed from the crutch area as the sheep is being shorn. This wool is kept completely separate from all other types of wool and packed separately. 4) All fleeces should be thrown onto a wool table to enable the skirting of the fleeces to be performed in a proficient manner. Chaffy or bury wool should be skirted from the fleece and packed separately. 5) The board should be swept and kept clean between sheep as well as during the shearing of the sheep. 6) All fleeces should be shaken to remove any second cuts before rolling and pressing the fleeces. 7) When pressing the wool all the different categories of wool are to be pressed separately. There should be no mixing of the different wool types during shearing but when pressing at the end of shearing the different types of wool can be put into one bag but they need to be separated by sheets of newspaper. 8) All bags are to be sewn with butchers twine. Please do not use baling twine, wire, electric fence wire, or polyprop twine to sew the wool bags. 9) A ll bags need to be identified as to their contents. 10) Where possible during shearing the level of straw needs to be kept to a minimum and away from the shearing area to keep the contamination level to a minimum. 11) Coloured & Blackface sheep are to be separated and shorn last so as not to contaminate the white wool with coloured fibres. 12) Fleece preparation incentives of up to 8¢/lb is applicable for bright high yielding fleeces that have been properly skirted and packaged. 13) Maintaining a clean shearing board and floor is an important and continuous process. It must be done before, during and after shearing to insure a quality clip. Rolling the fleece (all wools) • Spread skirted fleece on skirting table or clean wool handling area, flesh side down. • Fold fleece into thirds • Roll fleece from rear of animal to front. • Roll fleece flesh side out. OSN 26

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Shearers Listing

Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers • Ontario Shearers (Listed by area code / alphabetical) Paul Cassidy Thomasburg 613-478-5084 Ross Creighton Almonte 613-256-4752/3365 Richard Cullum Glenburnie 613-542-8584 Owen Cutfield Ottawa 613-725-9638 ocutfield@hotmail.com Fearnley Davies Tweed 613-478-3547 David Jones Demorestville 613-476-8530 Spencer Meldrum Alexandria 613-525-1907 Bruce McEwen Forrester’s Falls 613-582-3745 Eric O’Brien Ottawa 613-252-9414 obrieneric@gmail.com Tom Redpath Lanark 613-253-1606 shearmaster@hotmail.com Charles Schonauer Lanark 613-278-2346 Terry Spicer Madoc - Ontario & Quebec 613-473-1278 lost.horizon@sympatico.ca Ruco Braat Bailieboro 705-939-2366 Viren D’souza Keene 705-875-0030 / 705-295-6902 virendsouza@gmail.com Gerald Gemmill Englehart 705-544-2971 ggemmill@xplornet.com Geraldine Heffernan Indian River 705-295-4238 Ed Hughes small Hastings 705-559-8230 flocks & Alpacas hughesed@ymail.com Peter McIntyre Lindsay 705-879-6757 Donald Metheral Glen Huron 705-466-2568 Richard Metheral Glen Huron 705-466-3295 Michael Oates Keene 705-295-2638 Jonathan Bauman Elmira Cell 226-750-3083 Richard Bayly Wiarton 519-534-4160 Ervin Bowman Clifford 519-327-4760 Josh Bruton Wingham 519-357-4266 Pieter DeRijk Norwich 519-863-5770 / Cell 863-3790 normount@execulink.com Owen Cutfield Bruce Peninsula 519-793-3274 ocutfield@hotmail.com Karen Douma Corunna 519-862-2854 kdouma@cogeco.ca Irwin Jackson Rockwood 519-856-4490 Peter Kudelka Mitchell 519-348-4266 peter_kudelka@sympatico.ca Judy Miller Hanover 519-364-6193 Glenn Paine Kerwood 519-247-9894 Calvin & Jeff Russell Blenheim 519-676-2560 Garnet Russell Langton 519-875-4007 Gerald te Velde Owen Sound 519-538-4704 Karen Weirmier Elmwood 519-370-8668 Jerry Kelleher York 905-772-3298 Rob Worden Courtice 905-432-3628

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Funding for this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP). In Ontario, this program is delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council.â&#x20AC;?

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And the Winners Are… Jillian Craig

or the first time ever, the first and second place winners of the 2012 MAPLESEED Pasture Award are…sheep producers! Phillip and Elizabeth Smith of Breezy Ridge Farm won the 2012 award, coming in second place were sheep producers Brian and Anita DeJong. Congratulations to both of these producers who have innovative ideas on how to manage their pastures. For an award that has been traditionally won by beef producers it is great to see that sheep producers have stepped up to the plate this year. The three sponsors which make this award possible include MAPLESEED, the Ontario Forage Council (OFC) and the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association (OCA). This award was presented to the winners at the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association annual general meeting. MAPLESEED offers a cash award of $750 plus a 25kg bag of forage seed to the winner and $250 plus a bag of seed to the second place recipient. Pasture is an important component of a livestock operation that an award is presented each year to recognize those farmers who do an outstanding job of pasture management. “MAPLESEED is very pleased to be partnering with the Ontario Forage Council and the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association to recognize these people”, said Barry Robinson, sales manager with MAPLESEED. “It is all about the pasture and we want the winners to share with others how they make the best use of available resources. The goal is to have producers tell us about their innovative ideas, grazing management, watering facilities, forage species used, over-seeding successes and other ideas that make pastures successful on their operation.” Ray Robertson, Manager of the Ontario Forage Council, said that “as producers try to maximize the net profit from every acre, the practical techniques being followed on Breezy Ridge Farm and DeJong Acres are great examples that can be applicable to any livestock pasture management program.” More information on how these two farms manage their pastures can be found below.

It is important to note that the deadline for applications for the 2013 Ontario Pasture Award is November 30, 2012—let’s make winning a tradition! To submit a nomination for this award, please go to http://www.ontarioforagecouncil.com”

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Phil and Liz Smith, Breezy Ridge Farm Phil, his wife Liz and son David work full time on the farm, while their other son Nicholas, helps out on the farm part time since he is training to be an electrician. The Smith’s are located near Sutton in York County. Breezy Ridge Farm consists of Breezy Ridge Farm one hundred acres with about 90 acres workable. The flock has grown to an average of 450 purebred Rideau ewes wintered each year. The Smith’s are able to best utilize their pasture by rotational grazing with electric fencing. The grazing season is started around mid April and usually finishes in early December at Breezy Ridge Farm. Eight permanent paddocks are in place. High tensile three strand electric is used for the interior fence while five strand electric is used around the perimeter of the paddocks. Page wire is used along the road; in order to keep predators out and the sheep from pushing under the page fence, electrified offset wires have been installed. The flock is moved every three to five days and depending on the size of the group the pasture is subdivided with temporary electric fencing using push in posts. In the spring the flock is moved quite quickly through the paddocks depending on the height of the pasture species. When asked how the farm minimizes weaknesses in the pasture, the Smith’s graze the flock on low wet fields during drier times of the year. Another unique solution the family implements on their farm is grazing corn which can be utilized during dry spells; this allows the pastures to rest. Corn also serves to extend the grazing season in the fall. Grazing corn starts around mid to late August and finishes in December. The flock is strip grazed through the corn. Twelve acres of corn can feed the entire flock for approximately 80 days. Last year after the corn was grazed the flock was able to re-graze the regular pasture fields until December 24th since the pastures had been allowed to rest since the end of August. The weather helped extend the season in 2011 since the snow held off. The Smith’s say that their sheep will dig through the snow to find feed during the end of the season. The Smith’s have worked closely with Jack Kyle, OMAFRA Continued on page 29.

Continued from page 28 ~ And

the Winners Are…

Grazing Specialist. Videos have been made with Jack Kyle as the narrator and these informative videos can be found on the Breezy Ridge Farm website at www.rideausheep.com and click on New Videos.

The Smith’s five top Pasture Management Practices: • Use of high power electric fencing • Diligently sticking to frequent rotations in the grazing system • Use of temporary fence equipment to make the field size fit the flock size • Use of predator dogs to minimize predation • 24/7 grazing to utilize the fields most effectively – sheep like to graze during the night and very early morning and especially on moonlit nights when the weather is hot.

Various legume and grass species are used on the farm. They include White Dutch and New Zealand white clovers, Orchard Grass, Timothy, annual Rye grass, some Canary reed grass and some Fescue. Reseeding is a rarity since rotational grazing is used diligently. Some frost seeding of legumes has been done to improve certain pastures. One paddock was plowed 10 years ago and reseeded to a MAPLESEED pasture mixture which is Breezy Ridge Farm’s most productive field. The Smith’s plan to renovate other fields in a similar manner.

paddocks. Taps have been installed halfway down the field and hoses with floats on water troughs are used in order to water the sheep. By having the water available to the From left to right are: Ray Robertson, flock in the David Smith, Barry Robinson. pasture, sheep are not returning to a central location. This prevents paths which are worn into the fields as well as avoids wasted energy from the animals travelling back and forth. Breezy Ridge Farm has kept a diary to record pasture use for many years. All flock movements are recorded as they happen. The Smith’s have numbered all fields and have stuck to the same system for years. This can be a helpful tool for knowing how pastures will perform. The Smith’s utilize Livestock Guardian dogs in order to decrease the risk of predation from coyotes, wolves and bears. Dogs are especially needed since the flock grazes 24 hours a day. This closed flock has low health costs with the Smith’s monitor fecal egg counts and strategically drenching when needed. Phil and Liz Smith would like to thank the Ontario Forage Council, the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association and MAPLESEED Canada for the award. Continued on page 30.

The flock is watered by means of ½ inch polypipe lines which are laid permanently along the fence rows between

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Email info@sheltersolutions.ca

Address 360 King Street Unit #5 Palmerston ON N0G2P0

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Continued from page 29 ~ And

the Winners Are…

Brian and Anita DeJong, DeJong Acres Brian and Anita DeJong farm with their daughters Rayleen (9) and Nicole (8) at Lake Charles Ontario near Wiarton in Grey County. In 2008 they sold their farm in DeJong Acres Grand Valley to find a farm with more land and more barn capacity in order to have the potential to expand their sheep flock. Brian began farming full time and Anita was able to join him in the fall of 2011 when they purchased 450 ewes to add to their flock of 300. Pasture has become an important component of their feeding and management program. Their ewes are an Arcott x Dorset maternal composite purchased from OLIB breeders. Brian and Anita hope to be able to produce quality market lambs and also supply commercial flocks with replacement ewe lambs. The DeJong family is able to utilize pasture successfully in their operation. Ewes and rams are on pasture from May until the end of November. Early in the grazing season through to the late grazing season the flock is pastured on well-drained land. Their fields are pastured and cut for dry hay either before or after grazing. Alternating pasturing and cutting for hay increases the fertility of the hay land and also decreases weed populations. In the fall, the flock is grazed on re-growth from a cereal crop. Limited grain feeding is required prior to lambing in the Quality Commercial barn since this couple Breeding Stock can successfully sustain their grazing season Arcott/ Dorset up until the end of Maternal Hybrid November.

DEJONG ACRES

Strong Prolific Mothers = Higher Profits Replacement Ewe Lambs Available Year Round 125 January Born Ewe Lambs Available This Spring Brian, Anita, Rayleen and Nicole DeJong 463028 Conc 24, Wiarton ON

519-534-1211

anitabrian@gbtel.ca 30

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When asked to describe their pasture management program the DeJong’s have a few solutions. Pasture paddocks at this farm are completely portable. Components include water totes on wheels, portable net fencing with solar fencers, dogs for protection and mineral/salt feeders on skids. This means the

“It is an honour to be receiving the pasture award.” Anita DeJong

The DeJong’s five top Pasture Management Practices:

• Electric net fences sheep can be moved anywhere both for portability for pasturing, including grazing and predator aftermath of grain crops. The protection paddocks are small and moved • Move fences often frequently, this helps to ensure • Clip Pastures the best coverage of ground with • Grazing only once if manure and prevent sheep from possible in season being selective when grazing. and at the very least Moving every 2-3 days gives the taking a cut of hay grass the best opportunity for in between pasture re-growth. A weakness to this cycles. portable system is the amount of labour needed for major moves • Using Livestock due to the lack of permanent Guardian Dogs for fencing. In order to avoid some predator protection of the labour involved, the family carefully plans pasture rotation in order to avoid many long moves. When asked what they DeJong Acres would like to change Brian and Anita admit that some permanent perimeter and laneway fences would be useful to reduce labour when the flock has to be moved. Since the flock is enclosed in small temporary pastures and are constantly moved the distribution of manure is excellent. The couple also clip the pastures after grazing in order to eliminate old growth and weeds which were not eaten by the grazing flock. In order to reduce predation, this family believes that Livestock Guardian dogs are an essential part of a successful pasture system. Working in pairs the result has been zero predator damage. When it comes to health costs, this farm has very few due to their efficient method of utilizing pasture. Ewe lambs are given a Clostridial vaccination. In general, antibiotic use is reduced since ewes are not in the barn. High pasture productivity translates into high fertility and ewes which can start being bred earlier in the season. A big cost reduction came with no purchase of dewormers. The DeJong’s carefully manage the pastures and do not allow the ground to be grazed more than once without taking a cut of hay. Fecal samples were taken and returned clean due to the strategy in place on this farm. Brian and Anita DeJong would like to thank their nominator, Mike Peddler, from the Huron Bay Cooperative. OSN

Religious & Ethnic Holidays and Demand for Lamb and Goat Meat 2012 Religious Holidays

Meat

Mawlid al-Nabi Prophet’s Birthday February 4

Islamic Holiday

• The Halal slaughtering is the acceptable way of processing. • No indication of specific age, sex or weight.

Passover April 7 – 14

Jewish Holiday

• Preferences are for lambs of 30-55 lbs live weight, that are milk fed and fat. • Meat should be prepared by Kosher slaughter

Easter Start of Ramadan Month of Fasting July 20

Western or Roman April 8

• Traditional market is for lambs 30-45 lbs live weight, milk fed and fat, or for a suckling kid weighing 18-35lbs live weight.

Eastern Orthodox April 15

• Traditional market is for lambs 40-55 lbs which are milk fed and fat, o r suckling kids in the 25-50lbs live weight range.

Islamic Holiday

• Weaned market lambs 60-80lbs are preferred as well as male and female kids with all their milk teeth (not older than 12 months).

Eid ul Fitr Festival of Fast Breaking August 19

Islamic Holiday

• Most desired lambs are between 60-80 lbs live weight. The most desired goat is usually a young animal weighing between 50-70lbs. • Either animal is usually acceptable and male animals are preferred. It is also important that the animal be without any blemishes.

Rosh Hashana September 17 - 18

Jewish Holiday

• Forequarters from weaned lambs 60-110 lbs are wanted.

Dasara / Navaratri October 24 Eid ul-Adha

Hindu Holiday

• Females are not usually acceptable for this holiday. • The size of the carcass varies.

Festival of Sacrifice October 25

Islamic Holiday

• The traditional lamb for this holiday is a yearling although large market lambs and older sheep are also used. • The animals must be blemish free, however the definition varies. For some this means the animals should be healthy with no broken horns, open wounds or lameness. For others, it should not be castrated nor have even a torn ear. • Age is the main concern and the weight is ideally between 60-80 lbs.

Muharram /Islamic New Year November 15

Islamic Holiday

• Mutton is one of the dishes for this festive. • There is no restriction of age or weight for this day except the animal should be healthy and good looking.

Chanukkah December 9 - 16

Jewish Holiday

• The meat preferences are the same as Passover, which are lambs 30-55lbs live weight, milk fed and fat prepared by Kosher method of slaughter.

Christmas December 25

Christian Holiday

Various Caribbean holidays through the year

Caribbean

• Curried goat from intact market kids or bucks accompanied by a goat soup using the rest of the goat carcass is a traditional dish for Caribbean’s.

Cinco de Mayo and other Hispanic holidays May 5, 2012

Hispanic

• Some Mexican families desire a small Cabrito kid to celebrate Mexico’s independence day from Spain. Others prefer a large market kid or yearling barbecued whole over a pit. • Goat stew (Seco de Chivo) is a popular dish for other Latin American cultures for holidays such as Christmas. • The Hispanic market for goats is for 20-35 lb live weight milk-fed kids for Cabrito, and larger animals for Seco de Chivo.

Various Chinese holidays through the year

Chinese

• The Chinese market for goat is limited to the six colder months. • The preferred weight range is 60-80 pounds live, and goats in good health are required.

Various Filipino holidays through the year

Filipino

• Goat is one of the livestock animals that are very popular among Filipinos. • Goat meat is cooked in several ways like stew or roasted. • Healthy looking >60 lbs goat is what Filipinos always look for.

• Milk fed lambs are preferred

For more information and dates on Ethnic Holidays please visit www.ontariosheep.org

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Examining the Link Between Landscape and Predation – an Update

Kaiti Nixon, M.Sc. Candidate, Trent University arch is now upon us and spring is just around the The Respondents Overall corner! As I was hibernating in my graduate student Our group of respondents have ewe flocks averaging 120 head office during the (mildly) cold winter months, I spent (range 4 to 1500) and have had sheep on their current farm for some time entering data from the predation survey distributed an average of 15 years (range 0.5 to 150). 87% are employing in December. While the work continues, I want to share a brief some sort of prevention tool and of that group 78% were update with you. satisfied with the effectiveness of their efforts. 28% experienced kills in 2011 and when comparing producers who lost animals First of all, thank you to everyone who has taken time to to predators to those who didn’t, the only statistically significant fill out and return a survey. Summarizing this information has differences were average flock size and average group size. For been very interesting and informative. Many people included various reasons, producers with larger flocks are at a higher risk additional notes or thoughts and these have been very helpful. of losing animals to predation, and with larger flocks come larger groups, so these results are to be expected. Interestingly, there As a refresher, this project is a joint venture between OSMA, was no difference between these same groups for the percent of the OMNR and Trent University. We are looking at predation respondents who used prevention tools, the number of full days from a geographic perspective by examining the association (24 hour) sheep spent on pasture or the number of years that between landscape and losses on Ontario farms and testing sheep were kept on the farm. specific prevention devices. Previous scientific studies have

found associations between landscape and wolf predation of cattle, and we want to know if the same could be said for coyotes. There are three phases to this project. The survey, which asks questions about individual production systems as well as loss numbers, is the first phase. Responses will be used to build a contact list, help us identify confounding variables (which are the other factors that could affect the number of losses) as well as to assist with the third phase of the study by finding out which prevention techniques are currently used. The second phase is to visit a selection of farms and measure landscape variables (such as forest cover, water ways, shrub density, etc.) and refine the information collected on management techniques through a personal interview. The third phase is to test a variety of commercially available prevention devices on farms in conjunction with a study that has been radio-collaring coyotes in Prince Edward County. What have we found out so far? It is important to preface this part with the fact that these numbers are preliminary and will change. As of early February, we have received 162 surveys and will be collecting more until the end of March. A larger sample size would better represent Ontario producers as a whole, so please consider responding. If you are interested, you can email or call me and I will send a survey to you (my contact information can be found at the end of the article). A phone interview can be arranged if you prefer. I am always happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the survey or the study.

Prevention Tools One of the primary goals of the survey was to determine what techniques producers are currently using to prevent predator kills on their farms. From our pool of respondents, 79 (64%) producers are using guard animals and 68 (55%) use night time enclosures. 55 (45%) have some type of hunting and trapping on their property; 26 (21%) use scare tactics (like lights or noise) and 15 (12%) identified other prevention tools (Figure 1-A). The guardian animals (and include farm dogs) can be further grouped. 45 (37%) of respondents are using guard dogs, 41 (33%) have farm dogs (approximately half have farm dogs as well as guard dogs), 25 (20%) have llamas and 17 (14%) have donkeys (Figure 1-B). 30% of respondents kept two or more types of guardian animal. Hunting and trapping was also divided up into different types, as it is recognized that there are cost and effort differences between an individual hunting and trapping on their own property versus hiring a trapper or allowing others to hunt. Forty-five (37%) respondents allowed others to hunt on their property, and 14 (11%) hunted on their own property. Hunting year-round happened on 18 (14%) respondent’s properties, 10 (8%) hunt only when losses occur, and only six (5%) hired trappers (Figure 1-C).

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New Producers One of the things I am particularly interested in is how new producers are dealing with the threat of predation. On average, they are not different from the total group in losses or management techniques. 35 (28%) respondents indicated they had kept sheep on the farm for less than five years, and the average ewe flock was 95 animals. Of that group, 10 (29%) had suffered losses in 2011, although 32 (94%) were satisfied with their predation prevention. The only appreciable difference between new producers and the overall respondent pool was that fewer new producers are using guard dogs (26% versus 37%).

Next Steps These figures are just the beginning of the data analysis. Fencing is an extremely important part of the system, but to summarize the information received on the surveys will take a little more time. The geographic mapping of this information is also important (one of the main goals of this project!) but

will be done after the survey collection period has ended. The second and third stage of this project will be commencing this spring; I am in the process of contacting people to invite them to participate. Farm visits will start in late April or early May and continue through the summer. The next summary of data will be presented at the OSMA 2012 annual general meeting. Thank you again to the survey respondents and to the numerous people I have spoken with who have helped point me towards different resources. I would like to extend the invitation to anyone who wants to participate to contact me and I will send you a survey, or we can complete the survey over the phone. As always if you have questions or comments I would be happy to hear them! My contact information can be found below. Kaiti Nixon can be contacted at Kaiti.nixon@gmail.com or by calling 705-748-1011 x 6464. OSN

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Body Condition Scoring of Sheep

ne of the most important management skills of livestock keepers is the ability to quickly and easily access the body condition of their animals, on a regular basis - irrespective of the number of animals kept. Body condition scoring enables the livestock keeper to more closely maintain progress towards desired goals of productivity and/or reproduction. Body condition scoring is largely an index of the amount of muscle and degree of fatness of the animal. Body condition scoring methods have been developed for horses, cows, sheep, goats, and chickens. They are used for evaluating the adequacy of previous feed supply, determining future feed requirements, assessing the health status of individual animals, and establishing the condition of animals during routine animal management. Condition scores are also useful during assessment of animal welfare.

the maximum score of 5 or 9 describes animals that are very fat or obese (extreme examples may even have difficulty walking).

Why Condition Score

Many of the poor health conditions that sheep suffer from tend to reduce their ability to feed or impair their digestion. This can result in rapid weight loss, leading to further loss of condition and ultimately to death of the animal. However, simply looking at a sheep does not normally provide enough information for assessment of condition. Condition scoring is a simple method of assessing the condition of sheep by placing the hand over the backbone in the area just behind the rib cage. Scoring is done on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is emaciated (extremely thin), and 5 is very fat.

You can find the equivalent correct spot on yourself by resting you hands on your hips with the thumbs pointing forwards, and the fingers touching each other over the spine. In sheep the bones of the spine are more prominent than in man and feel sharp if the animal has little muscle and very little fat (e.g. score 2). An over fat sheep has such a thick fat layer that it is difficult to feel the bones of the spine (score 5). F Hoop spacing 7-1/4”

Body condition scoring needs to be approached in a systematic manner. Systems have been developed based on an index of either 1 to 9, or 1 to 5. In each case a score of 1 is used to describe animals that are extremely emaciated, and

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Condition scoring the ewe flock can be a useful management tool. A producer can classify ewes into groups according to fullness of muscling and amount of fat cover. While it is subjective, it is accurate enough to indicate the nutritional status of individual ewes as well as an entire flock. Ewes can be scored several times during the year. Perhaps the most important time is five to six weeks prior to lambing. Knowing condition scores, livestock owners can make adjustments in the feeding program either to save money or to prevent problems resulting from poor condition. There is an optimum condition (score) for each ewe in the flock for each stage of the production cycle. In general and for best performance, condition scores should be higher before and during gestation, whilst scores are likely to be lowest after lambing and before weaning. Continued on pages 35 and 36.

Anatomy of the Loin

Body Condition Scores Score

Description

Extremely emaciated All individual vertebrae can be felt easily. There is no muscle or fat covering the bones. Sheep in this condition have a serious problem and should normally be culled immediately

Lean Individual bones can be felt, but they are rounded rather than sharp. There is some muscle covering the bones, but this feels concave rather than convex.

Just Right or Good Condition The ends of the transverse processes of the vertebrae can be felt only with firm pressure. There is good full muscle with some fat covering the bones, and this feels convex rather than concave.

Fat The ends of the bones are not detectable, but their position can just be made out with very firm pressure. There is a thick covering of fat over the muscle covering the vertebrae.

Grossly Fat or Obese Nothing can be detected under a thick layer of fat covering the loin; even the tips of the spinous processes of the backbone are buried in fat.

Details Backbone

Prominent and sharp

Short ribs

Ends are sharp and easy to press between, over and around

Eye-muscle

Thin, the surface tending to feel hollow

Backbone

Prominent but smooth

Short ribs

Smooth well-rounded ends ÂŹ can feel between, over and around each smoothly

Eye-muscle

Reasonable depth with the surface tending to feel flat

Backbone

Can be felt but smooth and rounded

Short ribs

Ends are smooth and well covered firm pressure necessary to feel under and between short ribs

Eye-muscle

Full and rounded

Backbone

Detectable with pressure on the thumb

Short ribs

Individual short ribs can only be felt with firm pressure

Eye-muscle

Full with a covering layer of fat

Backbone

Can be felt with firm pressure

Short ribs

Cannot be felt even with firm pressure

Eye-muscle

Muscle cannot be felt due to a thick layer of fat

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Continued from page 35 ~ Body

Condition Scoring of Sheep

Lean or thin

Trials over a long period by DEFRA in the UK have shown that thin ewes (below condition score 2) and fat ewes (above condition score 4) will never perform to their full ability, because: At Mating: • They do not come on heat when the rams are first turned in. • They have erratic heat periods, shedding fewer eggs. • They may stay barren or become so in early pregnancy due to foetal resorption. In mid to late pregnancy: • They are more prone to twin-lamb disease (pregnancy toxaemia). • They are more likely to die when out-wintered. • They are more liable to vaginal prolapse, especially over-fat ewes fed ad lib roughage or arable by-products. and at Lambing: • They may have difficult births. • They produce fewer and weaker lambs, resulting in higher lamb losses • They have a poor colostrum and milk supply. Different breeds of sheep will also tend to have a range of different standard criteria for assessment of condition according to this five-point scale. In the Somali (blackhead Persian) and other fat-rumped sheep, an additional indicator of condition is the size and fat covering in the rump and tail. Good condition

This fat-rumped ewe from western Kenya has lost condition, most likely as a response to lactation. The backbone is prominent. The angular appearance clearly shows reduced muscles with little or no fat cover. In particular the rump has more or less no remaining fat cover. (Compare with the animal to the left). Ewes in this condition should be provided with supplementary feed. OSN Sources Cissé, M., M’Baye, M., Sane, I., Corréa A. & N’Diaye, I. (1994). Seasonal changes in body condition of the Senegalese Sahel goat: relationship to reproductive performance. In: Proceedings of the Second Biennial Conference of the African Small Ruminant Research Network AICC, Arusha, Tanzania, 7-11 December 1992. International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA)/Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA) P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia DEFRA: Welfare of sheep. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Suiter, J. (1994). Body condition scoring of sheep and goats. Department of Agriculture, Western Australia. Farmnote 69/1994 Thompson, J. & Meyer, H. (1994). Body Condition Scoring of Sheep. Oregon State University Extension Service. Winter, A. & Charnley, J. (1999). The Sheep Keeper’s Veterinary Handbook. The Cotswold Press.

In contrast, another animal from the same group, and without a lamb, has a smooth spine with full muscles and moderate fat cover. The rump and tail show increased fat cover compared to the thin ewe illustrated to the right. 36

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Photo: Jillian Craig

Coming to a District near you.... Your District OMIF Funding Helps OSMA Promote Lamb

ou are looking at one of three displays that are being provided to all 11 districts. OSMA received an OMIF Grant (Ontario Market Investment Fund) to use in ‘Ontario Lamb Promotion’. OMIF runs under the umbrella of the Agricultural Adaptation Council and targets promotion of consumer awareness of Ontario-produceed foods and is designed to encourage Ontarians to buy locally. The fund has assisted us in the redesign in our two websites, www.ontariosheep.org and www. lambrecipes.ca. We also have our new logo thanks to this OMIF grant and here you can see one of three district displays that promote lamb. This display is targeted to students. The other two promote lamb to consumers and promote sheep production to new and future producers. In addition to supplying this fantastic artwork (kudos to Glenn Knight of Prisms Studios, Guelph for the artwork), all districts have received very versatile displays that can be used as table tops or stacked to be full displays as shown here. OSMA has also received two tradeshowdisplays. More photos in the next issue of Sheep News. Special thanks must go to the Agricultural Adaptation Council and the Ontario Market Investment Fund. OSN

Over the past three years, OSMA and producers have benefited from an ongoing ‘Benchmarking Projects”. As this project continues, we would like to thank the producers who have taken their valuable time to participate. We would also like to make this very important acknowledgement:

“Funding for this project was provided in part by the Agricultural Management Institute (AMI). The AMI is part of the Best Practices Suite of programs for Growing Forward, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.” OSN M a r c h 2 0 1 2

Improve Conception to Increase Consumption Improving Conception Rates and Prospects for Profit A report on the Profitable Flock Expansion Seminars 2011; Focus on Nutrition for Conception Christoph Wand – Beef Cattle and Sheep Nutritionist, OMAFRA

Conception: Foundation for Success! The breeding season, and its conception events are critical points in determining the productivity and profitability of a sheep operation. The OMAFRA Sheep Team and the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency were the major sponsors of the annual Sheep Seminars at Atwood and Napanee. The meetings on November 15th and 17th 2011, respectively, focused on improving conception rate, which has a significant impact on the profitability of Ontario sheep operations. Improving conception and lambing rates is also an easy way to address a market that is undersupplied and to help an industry which has difficulty maintaining significant numbers of commercial size operations. The three major strategies discussed specifically were using genetics, nutrition and management to improve conception rates, and featured guest speaker Joannie Jacques (CEPOQ) and four well-known Ontario producers (Cherry Allen, Chris Buschbeck, Helene Carere and Dick Kuiperij) on a panel in addition to OMAFRA Sheep Team talent. The Seminars attracted more than 240 Ontario producers; including the trade show total attendance was about 260 between the two venues; yet another record turn out, especially at Napanee! Although this article will focus on the areas that I covered that day; namely nutritional aspects of conception - other speakers addressed genetics, flock management, manipulating the ewe’s seasonality and ram care and management.

Nutrition and Conception Finer points around the general nutrition and supplementation of the ewe flock as it relates to maximizing the conception success rate in the ewe flock include that will be addressed below include; 1. The concept of ‘flushing’ and ‘flushing rations’ 2. The use of Body Condition Scoring (BCS) as a management tool 3. Labour concepts to improve the success of supplementation programs

The Concept of ‘Flushing’ and ‘Flushing Rations’ Although often accepted as fact, there is some room for philosophical discussion on flushing. That is; does ‘flushing’ really exist? Is it just recovery from nutritional stress, and return to optimal nutrition? Or is there something to this timing of extra energy? Is it about maximising ovulation and conception? Or is it actually about embryo survival? There is an aspect of fact to each of these notions, but the reality remains; there is a specific, measurable response in pregnancies to improved 38

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feeding around the time of breeding, especially in ‘hardworking’ ewes. This relationship Photo: Tom Elgersma is detailed in the OMAFRA Factsheet 02-055 “Flushing the Ewe Flock: Is it Beneficial?” by Anita O’Brien. Why the response exists is important to appreciate as more layers of complexity (prolificacy, seasonality, acceleration, feeding systems, and pharmaceutical use) are added to the system.

Use of Body Condition Scoring (BCS) as a management tool Body Condition Score (BCS) is the best system to determine medium to long-term energy status of the ewe. As detailed in “Flushing the Ewe Flock: Is it beneficial?” the key to determining the length of time (if at all) that flushing is required is a function of BCS. As a result, this is a management practice that needs to occur well before any planned breeding. In a healthy ewe flock, a good rule of thumb would be to do this about 2 months prior to the planned breeding so that no surprises occur when that more typical benchmark of 3-4 weeks as a flushing period occurs. Table 1 details where BCS should be at various points in the production cycle. The major challenge that occurs in describing this lies with the degree of acceleration in the flock. In an annual lambing pasture-based flock, there are several months to regain condition (assuming May birth, August weaning and December breeding), whereas in the most aggressive accelerated systems, ewes may actually be turned out to rams before weaning. In the STAR system, ewes would routinely be turned to the ram about 1 week after weaning. This negates any idea of a standardized ‘flushing ration’ as BCS (other than seasonality) will be the best predictor of estrous activity, and in the STAR example that means BCS must always be maintained closer to 3.0 to ensure maximum conception. Learning to determine BCS is a crucial sheep production skill, which is based on experience. That said, the skill can Table 1. Suggested BCS Benchmarks for the ewe flock at varying management events throughout the production cycle Management Event

BCS Ranges, Tolerances and (Averages)

Lambing

3.0 to 3.5 (3.25)

Weaning

2.0 to 3.0 (2.50)

Breeding

2.5 to 3.5 (3.00)

Sheep Condition Scores A “how to“ guide to condition scoring sheep.

Condition Score 1

Backbone The animal should be standing in a relaxed position. It should not be tense, crushed by other animals or held in a crush. If the animal is tense it is not possible to feel the short ribs and get an accurate condition score

Short rib Condition Score

Condition Score

Average condition score of a flock is very difficult to assess visually. The sheep pictured are condition score 2 (on left) and condition score 4 (on right). A flock is made up of a range of condition score and will include a range of up to 3 condition scores. Randomly assess 25 and use the average of these. Condition Score

Backbone The bones form a sharp narrow ridge. Each vertebra can be easily felt as a bone under the skin . There is only a very small eye muscle. The sheep is quite thin (virtually unsaleable)

Short Ribs The ends of the short ribs are very obvious. It is easy to feel the squarish shape of the ends. Using fingers spread 1cm apart, it feels like the fingernail under the skin with practically no covering

Backbone The bones form a narrow ridge but the points are rounded with muscle. It is easy to press between each bone. There is a reasonable eye muscle. Store conditionideal for wethers and lean meat.

Short Ribs The ends of the short ribs are rounded but it is easy to press between them. Using fingers spread 0.5cms apart, the ends feel rounded like finger ends. They are covered with flesh but it is easy to press under and between them.

Backbone The vertebrae are only slightly elevated above a full eye muscle. It is possible to feel each rounded bone but not to press between them. (Forward store condition ideal for most lamb markets now. No excess fat).

Short Ribs The ends of short ribs are well rounded and filled in with muscle. Using 4 fingers pressed tightly together, it is possible to feel the rounded ends but not between them. They are well covered and filled in with muscle.

Backbone It is possible to feel most vertebrae with pressure. The back bone is a smooth slightly raised ridge above full eye muscles and the skin floats over it.

Short Ribs It is only possible to feel or sense one or two short ribs and only possible to press under them with difficulty. It feels like the side of the palm, where maybe one end can just be sensed.

Backbone The spine may only be felt (if at all) by pressing down firmly between the fat covered eye muscles. A bustle of fat may appear over the tail (wasteful and uneconomic).

Short Ribs It is virtually impossible to feel under the ends as the triangle formed by the long ribs and hip bone is filled with meat and fat. The short rib ends cannot be felt.

Condition Score 5

Figure 1. “Sheep Condition Scores: A ‘how to’ guide to condition scoring sheep” by the Government of Western Australia Agriculture Department was included in the proceedings and a similar version available at: www.makingmorefromsheep. com.au/wean-more-lambs/tool_10.1.htm

be somewhat self-taught based on good documentation. To that extent, see “Sheep Condition Scores: A ‘how to’ guide to condition scoring sheep” by the Government of Western Australia Agriculture Department, as depicted in Figure 1, available on-line or in the proceedings.

Improve the Success of Supplementation – Improve Labour Usage! Should supplementation be required, the key to having success is a simple, reliable and safe delivery system. For producers using total mixed rations (TMRs), the system has all the flexibility required. However, for producers using grazing systems or outwintering systems at the time of breeding, there may be a need to simplify supplementation to ensure it really happens. Using pails and mini troughs for concentrate is simply not sustainable in terms of labour or operator safety, especially as the flock grows!!! On this subject, producers can refer to OMAFRA Factsheet 02045 “Diet Supplementation for Grazing and Outwintering Ewes” or participate in the Sheep Infrastructure Workshops advertised on the OMAFRA website.

Bottom Line on Nutrition at Breeding Nutrition at breeding is critical to the success of the operation, and is likely dependant on nutritional history prior to

the breeding event itself. BCS is a skill required by all sheep producers, and the use of BCS is critical to determine the nutritional plane required for a management group. In meeting this nutritional plane, forage quality is key; and in most cases only energy supplementation is needed at flushing and breeding. This energy supplementation can often be achieved in Ontario using clean, whole, dry-shelled corn, which also has mechanization and availability benefits.

Improving Conception in Your Flock For those who could not attend, Sheep Seminar proceedings are still available on a limited basis by calling the Woodstock OMAFRA office at 519-537-6621, and OSMA hopes to post these proceedings on its website later this year. By using the three strategies presented – genetics, nutrition and management – Ontario producers can quickly begin making improvements in conception over the short and longer term. On behalf of the OMAFRA Sheep Team, I would like to thank all the attendees and trade show for their participation, and OSMA for its loyal support in its major sponsorship. Also, mark your calendar! The 2012 Sheep Seminars are scheduled for November 13 in Atwood and November 15 in Napanee, and will focus on making money! OSN OSN M a r c h 2 0 1 2

Wrap Ups focused on forages to fill ‘feed holes’ and the second on the big decisions—strategies for dealing with high input costs. OSMA’s General Manager, Murray Hunt, also gave a presentation on Welcoming Change; more on Murray’s presentation can be found in the Wrap Up’s Article.

Central Ontario Agricultural Conference Submitted by Peter Harvey, Chairman of the Sheep Program Building a Better Farm Business was the theme for the 2012 Central Ontario Agricultural Conference held in January at Georgian College in Barrie. The Sheep Program was well attended with producers from across central and southern Ontario. The day had a mix of management and production oriented topics. Jillian Craig from OSMA introduced the new bioFlock web based flock management software. John Steele from Shepherds Choice covered using RFID technology with his topic turning the RFID lemon into Lemonade. Christoph Wand, OMAFRA nutritionist, examined the economics and management of feeding lambs in a feedlot. Anita O’Brien, OMFRA sheep and goat specialist, and Keith Sinclair, a shepherd from Churchill Ontario, did back to back sessions on predation with emphasis on predator proof fencing. The program finished up with a panel discussion on marketing. Maureen Rundle from Mur Mar Meadows related her success with marketing lamb at a farmer’s Market. Brian Pascoe from the Ontario Stockyards Inc. gave his perspective from the auction ring and Anita O’Brien moderated the panel.

A panel of seasoned shepherds were on hand to share tips and tricks of sheep management from their operations and experiences. Panelists included Keith Todd from Todd Sheep Company Inc.; Don Lewis of Lewis Farms; and Kim Lennox. This was facilitated by Jason Emke. Many tradeshow booths were present and knowledgeable industry representatives were on hand to answer producer’s questions. OSMA had a booth at this event and staff were able to talk to producers as well as register beginning shepherds. A display on bioFlock was also present. OSMA and Bio staff were on hand to answer producer questions as well as showcase the new program. This day-long event included a very well prepared lunch.

Thanks to the participants, speakers and many sponsors for making the 2012 Central Ontario Agricultural Conference a success.

Thank you to the staff at Grey Agricultural Services, the volunteers who helped make lunch possible and for all of the sponsors who supported the event. Thank you also to the speakers who shared their knowledge with producers.

Grey Bruce Farmers Week

Welcoming Change

This year’s Sheep Day at the Grey Bruce Farmers Week was held on Saturday January 7th, 2012 in Elmwood, Ontario. This successful event drew a large crowd for this educational session.

OSMA General Manager, Murray Hunt, gave an industry update at the recent Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week Sheep Day. He highlighted several areas which OSMA is currently working on. Hunt also touched on key areas in which producers could improve their bottom line as well as aid in improving the overall sheep industry.

The educational portion of the day featured many top notch presenters. Dr. Paula Menzies from the University of Guelph gave two informative presentations on Maedi Visna and Q Fever. Dr. Andrew Peregrine from the University of Guelph spoke on drug resistance in parasites of sheep in Ontario and summarized valuable research from the completed parasite research study. Woody Lane from Lane Livestock Services was visiting from Oregon, USA. He had two very interesting and educational presentations; one 40

OSN M a r c h 2 0 1 2

In an OSMA survey two years ago, producers indicated that they wanted to know how to get more lambs per ewe and how to control predation. Canada is still only producing 43% of the lamb it is consuming and Canadian consumption rates have actually decreased from 1.22 to 1.08 Kilograms per year per person. This is because we haven’t been able to supply the product. Hunt said that producers must realize Continued on page 42.

Auction Markets and Abattoirs

elow is a listing of all Auction Markets and Abattoirs that currently auction and process sheep and lamb. As industry partners we value their contribution to the Ontario Sheep industry. If you would like more information on their locations please go to http://www.ontariosheep.org/MarketInformation/SaleBarnsAbattoirs.aspx. If the company that is killing sheep for you is not listed here, please call the OSMA office at 519-836-0043 X 25 OSN Name

Abattoir LeFaivre Inc. Abingdon Meat Packers Ltd. Agram 2005 Meats Inc. Al Madina Halal Meat Packers Alvinston Custom Butchering Ltd. Aman's Abattoir Bachert Meats Ltd. Beeton Meats Belle Vallee Meats & Abattoir Bentinck Packers Ltd. Bilal Farms Inc. Brian Quinn's Meats Ltd. Buchler Farms & Abattoir Charles Quality Meats Ltd. Cole Bros. Meat Processing Cornell Meats Country Meadow Meats Creative Meats Desormeaux Slaughter-house & Meats Inc. Doug's Meats Dresden Meat Packers Ltd. Elora Road Meats Ewe Dell Family Farm FGO Organic Processing Ltd. Frey's Custom Meats Inc. Gord's Abattoir Ltd. Green's Meat Market & Abattoir Ltd. Grey County Meats Griffiths Country Meats Hank De Koning Ltd. Hanson Meats Harriston Packing Company Ltd. Hay's Custom Cutting Ltd. Highgate Tender Meats Ltd. Highland Packers Ltd. Hilts Butcher Shop Ltd. Holly Park Meat Packers Inc. Horan's Meats Horizon Meat Packers Inc. Ideal Meat Products Ltd. J.J. Meat Distributing Inc. Joe Savage & Fils Abattoir Inc. Johnson Meats Julius Meat Packers Inc. Ken R. Mogk L & M Meat Distributing Lambton Meat Products Len and Patti Butcher Block Lloyd Miedema & Sons Ltd. Louro Bros. Meats Ltd. Lynch's Slaughterhouse Manilla Halal Meats Matar Meats McGarroch of Micksburg Custom Butchering Metheral Meats Metzger Meat Products Miedema's Country Meats Miedema's Meat Market Ltd. Miky's Smoke House Millgrove Packers Ltd. Mister Beef Inc. Mount Brydges Abattoir Ltd. Newmarket Meat Packers Ltd.

Abattoirs

City St. Isidore Caistor Centre Georgetown Brinston Alvinston Wellington Walton Beeton Kenabeek Hanover Kanata Yarker Magnetawan Waterloo Picton London Owen Sound Warren Crysler Schomberg Dresden Mildmay Woodslee Zurich Mount Forest Leamington Wingham Maxwell Oxdrift Port Dover Cayuga Harriston Campbellford Highgate Stoney Creek Norwood Cookstown Ramore Shelburne Owen Sound Toronto St. Albert Aylmer St. Anns Tavistock Woodbridge Wyoming Lindsay Waterford Ayr Mallorytown Oakwood Osgoode Pembroke Glen Huron Hensall Exeter Embro Joques Waterdown Pakenham Mount Brydges Newmarket

Phone No (613) 679-4698 (905) 957-2223 (905) 877-6082 (613) 652-1301 (519) 898-2821 (613) 399-2173 (519) 887-9328 (905) 729-2771 (705) 647-7419 (519) 364-3538 (613) 488-2268 (613) 377-6430 (705) 387-3367 (519) 886-7931 (613) 476-6955 (519) 652-2748 (519) 376-5663 (705) 967-2006 (613) 987-2148 (905) 859-0599 (519) 683-2585 (519) 367-2261 (519) 723-4456 (519) 236-7717 (519) 323-3568 (519) 326-2503 (519) 357-2912 (519) 922-2400 (807) 937-6716 (519) 583-0115 (905) 772-5053 (519) 338-3330 (705) 653-3388 (519) 678-3383 (905) 662-8396 (705) 696-2172 (705) 458-2870 (705) 236-4498 (866) 577-7797 (519) 372-0636 (416) 425-7382 (613) 987-2070 (519) 773-9208 (905) 957-7162 (519) 462-2280 (905) 775-6775 (519) 845-3358 (705) 328-2100 (519) 443-8844 (519) 632-7364 (613) 659-2861 (705) 357-3004 (613) 821-7929 (613) 732-7181 (705) 466-3135 (519) 262-3130 (519) 235-4978 (519) 475-4010 (705) 362-8590 (905) 689-6184 (613) 624-5222 (519) 264-1873 (416) 364-2671

Abattoirs Name Niagara Sausage & Meat Products Ltd. Northern Meat Packers and Abattoir Ltd. Northern Quality Meats Ltd. Ontario Halal Meat Packers Inc. Palmateer's Abattoir Ltd. Peel Sausage Abattoir Pine Ridge Packers (2003) Rainy River District Regional Abattoir Inc. Ralph Bos Meats Ltd. Ranchland Meats Ltd. Reiche Meat Products Ltd. Rideau Meats Rua Meats Ltd. Russell Slaughterhouse Inc. Ryding- Regency Meat Packers Ltd. Sanabil Halal Meat Farm Smokey Joe's Meat Packers Sprucedale Quality Meats Inc. St. Helen's Meat Packers Ltd. Stayner Meat Packers Ltd. Taylor's Custom Meats The Beefway The Burt Farm Thunder Bay Meat Processing Co. (1986) Ltd. Tilbury Abattoir and Meats Tom Henderson Custom Meat Cutting Town & Country Meats & Abattoir Valtoudis Brothers Meat Packers Vanessa Meats & Deli VG Packers Walkerton Meat Market Wallace Beef Inc. Wall's Pork Shop Wayne's Meat Products Inc. Weiland Meats Ltd. Whitmore Meat Packers Ltd. Willie's Meats Ltd. Windcrest Meat Packers Ltd. Zehr's Country Market

Aylmer Stockyards Inc. Brussels Livestock Exchange D.H. Hickson Ltd. Denfield Livestock Exchange Inc. Embrun Livestock Exchange Ltd. Hagersville Auction Centre Kawartha Lakes Co-operative Auction Market Inc. Keady Livestock Market Ltd. Lindsay Livestock Exchange Ontario Livestock Exchange Inc. Ontario Stockyards Inc. Renfrew-Pontiac Livestock Ltd. Selby Livestock & Auction Centre Talbotville Livestock Exchange Temiskaming Livestock Exchange Vankleek Hill Livestock Exchange Ltd.

City Welland Trout Creek Bruce Mines Milton Tweed Drayton Blackstock Emo Strathroy Holland Centre Pembroke Smiths Falls Foxboro Russell Toronto Mississauga Peterborough Sprucedale Toronto Stayner Roseneath Kincardine Gore Bay Murillo Tilbury Chesterville Ridgetown Claremont Vanessa Simcoe Walkerton Glenburnie Oxdrift Hagersville Petrolia Coldwater Troy Port Perry Dashwood

Auction Markets 8933 Walker Road Aylmer 42857 Newry Road Brussels 2508 County Road 8 Campbellford 12952 Sixteen Mile Road Denfield 1643 Salebarn Road Greely 97 First Line Hagersville

Phone No (905) 734-3948 (705) 723-5573 (705) 782-4224 (905) 875-0270 (613) 478-3801 (519) 638-3444 (905) 986-4932 (807) 482-3028 (519) 245-1574 (519) 374-4530 (613) 732-3773 (613) 283-3477 (613) 962-7915 (613) 445-2005 (416) 767-3343 (905) 563-1700 (705) 740-1169 (705) 685-7747 (416) 769-1788 (705) 428-3006 (905) 352-2367 (519) 396-2257 (705) 282-0328 (807) 935-2911 (519) 682-3028 (613) 448-3471 (519) 674-3732 (905) 640-4616 (519) 446-3897 (519) 426-2000 (519) 881-0781 (613) 536-6379 (807) 937-4357 (905) 768-3633 (519) 882-1215 (705) 325-8257 (519) 647-3160 (800) 750-2542 (519) 237-3668

(519) 765-2672 (519) 887-6461 (705) 653-3660 (519) 666-1140 (613) 821-2634 (905) 768-5601

580 Woodville Road

Woodville

(705) 439-4444

117012 Grey Road 3 2138 Little Britain Road 856 Weber Street N 3807 Highway 89 18156 Highway 17 11 Pleasant Drive 10666 Trafalgar Road 883006 Highway 65 E

Tara Lindsay Waterloo Cookstown Cobden Napanee Georgetown New Liskeard

(519) 934-2339 (705) 328-3500 (519) 884-2082 (705) 458-4000 (613) 646-7335 (613) 354-6260 (519) 631-1850 (705) 647-5415

378 Notre-Dame

St. Chrysostome

(613) 678-3008

OSN M a r c h 2 0 1 2

Continued from page 40 ~ Wrap

ups

the value of good record keeping. He noted that producers should pick a record keeping program and get on it if they have not already done so. Producers must also realize the importance of genetic selection and performance recording. “If you’re not buying a performance tested ram, why are you in sheep farming?” Hunt asked producers. “Producers will see a 35% increase in profits from better genetics and improved selection. We need a national program to make that happen.” Ontario is working with Quebec and Alberta on a national flock health program as this is another very important factor in getting more lamb to market. Hunt also focused on the latest data from the OSMA Benchmarking Study. Two years of data have been collected now from 25 individual flocks across Ontario. The study has found that breeding stock sales significantly affect farm profits. Stocking rates also affected farm profits. The average size of the flocks in the study was 500 ewes but the 700 head flocks made more money - approximately $30,000 more per year. “You’re not going to automatically make more money by adding 200 more sheep to the flock. Economies of scale must be taken into account” said Hunt. An important finding in the study is that those producers who made more money took more responsibility for what was around them. They applied what they knew, planned more and worked with various people in the industry. Producers who focused on their sheep first made more money than those

who tried to farm and manage every aspect of the operation. Realizing the importance of genetics, proper nutrition, flock management and family is what made the difference. OSMA will be focusing on predation and wildlife, expanding the provincial flock, educating producers and increasing collaboration throughout the industry

District 3 Farm Tour - A Huge Success Submitted by: Neil Mesman and Luann Erb On January 14, 2011 we had the opportunity of touring Brent and Christa Royce’s sheep farm in Listowel. Attendance was a huge success with 80-100 producers and families coming to the farm. I think the automated phone message sent out by OSMA really made the difference to get the word out about this meeting. Brent farms with his wife Christa and two daughters, Hayleigh and Emily. His father, Allan was present to help out at the farm tour and lives on the farm where the sheep barn was. The farm was bought in 1975. Brent also raises both the Nicholas and Hybrid breeds of turkeys and grows 18 000 per year. Drug free turkeys are raised as well as conventional turkeys. The drug free ones are sold at a family store north of Listowel. 450 acres of crops such as wheat, corn, soybeans, and white beans are harvested each year and the family also does custom work. The 400 ewe flock of sheep are housed in a huge barn 76” X 265’ with a high insulated ceiling. It was once a turkey barn. There is plenty of room for hundreds more sheep and storage. The barn is equipped with curtained sides. Monitors in the four corners of the barn constantly check the temperature in different parts of the barn and the curtains automatically raise and lower depending on the temperature in the barn. During the summer months the curtains are fully open allowing fresh air and sunlight and in the winter the sheep are protected from the weather. There are fans and heaters in the barn that can be used if necessary. The long narrow pens are all equipped with automatic water stations and have cement mangers to keep feed clean and dry. It is all neatly organized and the pens sizes can be changed at any time to accommodate the needs during lambing or breeding. The sheep are fed haylage and corn silage which are stored outdoors in large plastic tubes. Straw is also added to the ration to meet the sheep needs. Brent uses a self

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propelled feed mixer to auger the feed including any supplements to the mangers easily while he drives down the alleys. Straw is chopped by his handy chopper and spread under the sheep as needed. One thing that was very obvious to me is that there is no wasted feed in this management system. It is a great, comfortable environment to work in year round. Brent uses the RFID system of ewe management and has a handling system set up in the barn for easy sorting and monitoring weight gains and doing other procedures with the flock. The ewes are breed to lamb year round in an accelerated system of 3X in 2 years in 5 groups. MGA is used to help synchronize the groups. The ewes were a mixture of Ile de France, Dorset, Suffolk and Rideau. I think I saw a Hampshire ram in the rams pen too. Brian Tarr was present at the meeting and did hands on demonstrations on condition scoring of ewes. Scores range from 1 to 5 and are important for sheep health. Brent had well fed, healthy sheep with scores of 3-5. It is not desirable to have sheep in the 4.5-5 range for lambing issues and breeding issues, nor is it desirable to have them score below 2.5 as they are prone to illness and also tend to have lambing and breeding issues. Brent also used the RFID wand to show the detailed information that can be captured on each sheep as it passes through the race. Dave Bray from the Stratford OMAFRA office was also present with some handouts on various topics such as preventing barn fires, livestock disposal vessels and predation. District 3 would like to thank Brent for offering the tour, OSMA for lending their display board and numerous booklets and pamphlets on sheep production, Nieuwland Feed (Shur-gain) for providing coffee and timbits. Plastic

boots were provided by Nieuwland Feed as well and special thanks to the WOLPA group for helping us out when we were running out of boots and also for bringing a large group of producers to the tour. Thanks to Brian Tarr, sheep specialist with Shur-gain for being on hand to answer producer questions and providing us with condition scoring tools. Being new to sheep in 2010, Brent sure has an excellent facility to work with and great tools to help him be a success. He is very active in the community being the president of the Perth County Federation of Agriculture and sitting on the Turkey Board and is very involved with Farm and Food Care. He is a on the committee for District 3 OSMA as well. He was a guest speaker at the OSMA AGM last fall and was remembered at saying, “I am just a farmer.”

2012 District 10 Sheep Day Approximately 88 producers attended this year’s Sheep Day in District 10. It was a well rounded event covering a wide range of topics. Anthelmintic Resistance, Animal Welfare Concerns and The Role of the OSPCA Inspector were some of the subjects participants were anxious to learn more about. John Molenhuis of OMAFRA spoke about the Sheep Benchmarking Project and Cost of Production and James Walker of Agricorp gave an update on the Risk Management program, AgriStability Program and other Agricorp programs of interest to producers. Other speakers included Dr. Andrew Brooks who spoke on Sheep and Lamb Mortality, Paul Luimes who shared information on the Corn Sileage and DDGS lamb feeding trials at Ridgetown College, Terry Ackerman gave an update on the Canadian Lamb Cooperative and Anita O’Brien – OMAFRA Sheep Specialist spoke about Managing Pastures to Manage Parasites. Trade show booths and numerous doorprizes were included in part of the day’s full agenda. Grenville’s 4-H Sheep Club provided a delicious hot lamb luncheon for all participants. Area producers continue to value the information shared at this event each year as well as the opportunity to enjoy some social time with their fellow producers. OSN

Association Directory Purebred Sheep Breeders of Ontario c/o Irwin Jackson, RR#4 Rockwood, Ontario N0B 2K0 • (519) 856-4490

Ontario Suffolk Sheep Association Glen Porteous, 703037 Walker Sideroad RR#1, Chatsworth ON N0H 1G0 • (519) 794-4549

ontario katahdin sheep Association Barbara Burdzy (519) 236-7368 Email: bbfarm@hay.net

Rideau Association of canada Neil Post, 34 Wilton Drive, Guelph, Ontario N1E 7L6 (519) 820-2810 • Fax: (519) 846-2225 Email: info@rideausheep.org • www.rideausheep.org

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Farm Credit Canada: Optimism About Canadian Agriculture at All-Time High Marketwire, January 17, 2012

ptimism among Canadian agriculture producers and agribusiness owners is at an all-time high, according to the fifth annual Farm Credit Canada (FCC) national Vision panel survey. A full 80% say that their farm or business will be better off in five years - a shift from 76% in 2010. Further evidence of this optimistic attitude is demonstrated in additional survey findings which show: • that more Canadian producers report being better off today than they were five years ago - 77% compared to 67% in 2010; • that 58% of producers plan to expand or diversify their operations within the next five years; and • that seven in ten producers would encourage a friend or relative to pursue a career in primary production. Full survey results are available at www.fccvision.ca/ research. To view the chart associated with this release, please see the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/116fcc_ graph_e.pdf “The results are great news,” says FCC President and CEO Greg Stewart. “Producers said their optimism is driven by their expectation of profitability over the next five years, increasing global demand for food and the fact that they have either recently, or expect to, reduce their debt over the next five years. At the same time, they expressed caution due to factors beyond their control such as weather, unpredictable economic conditions and potential rising interest rates, which makes perfect sense.” “Following a few years of economic uncertainty and challenging weather in some parts of Canada, the results demonstrate the ongoing resiliency of Canadian producers and the agriculture industry,” says Jean-Philippe Gervais, FCC Senior Agriculture Economist. “In an online discussion, producers said their expected profitability stemmed from a strong position of major agriculture market drivers such as increases in farmland values, higher commodity and red meat prices, and current interest rates.” In the survey, producers openly shared hundreds of positive comments about the industry. “Agriculture is more than a job, it is an amazing lifestyle,” said a B.C. dairy producer and member of the Vision panel who answered the survey. “I feel confident that there are exciting changes ahead as young people realize the value in working in an industry that they love.” An Ontario beef producer commented in the survey that, “Farming is not going to go away or be moved to another country. People need to eat so farming will always 44

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exist. It is a good field to work in. There are a variety of jobs within the field.” “Agriculture is an essential industry for Canada and the world, and as industry champions, FCC has an important role to play in sharing news about the positive reality of the industry,” says Stewart. “The numbers clearly show that producers are prepared to capitalize on opportunities Canadian agriculture offers the world. Optimism is just what agriculture needs to attract more people with the skills and passion to grow the industry, as well as investment dollars. This will enable continued innovation,” says Stewart. Across Canada, producers in Saskatchewan are more likely to be optimistic about the future (82%) than other producers (79%). Crop and dairy producers across the country consistently report high levels of optimism, and optimism among beef producers ranges from a low of 59% in Quebec to a high of 87% in Manitoba. Complete survey results, and graphs of findings by sector and province can be found at www.fccvision.ca/research.

Province

Optimism level

Alberta

80%

Atlantic provinces

74%

British Columbia

75%

Manitoba

79%

Ontario

81%

Quebec

78%

Saskatchewan

82%

National weighted average

80%

FCC Vision Panel members - over 9,000 producers and agribusiness and agri-food operators - were asked in the fall about their views on the state of agriculture. Nearly 4,500 producers participated. The margin of error for this survey is +/-1.4%, 19 times out of 20 on a sample of this size. Demographic subgroups will have a higher margin of error. As Canada’s leading agriculture lender, FCC is advancing the business of agriculture. With a healthy portfolio of more than $22 billion and 19 consecutive years of portfolio growth, FCC is strong and stable - committed to serving the industry through all cycles. FCC provides financing, insurance, software, learning programs and other business services to producers, agribusinesses and agri-food operations. FCC employees are passionate about agriculture and committed to the success of customers and the industry. For more information, visit www.fcc.ca. OSN Source: Marketwire, January 17, 2012, www.marketwire.com/printer_ friendly?id=1607208

Where Are All the Lambs? From Agri-News, July 4, 2011

reat chefs are busy preparing their summer menus, and locally produced foods are centre-of-the-plate and in high demand. The media has discovered what most chefs, some consumers and all lamb producers know there isn’t enough lamb to go around. . Lamb production in Canada has been declining since the world wars ended and more so since 2003, says Susan Hosford, business development sheep/lamb industry, with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. Canada’s ewe flock declined from 977,600 head in 2005 to 813,600 in 2011. Today Canada produces less than half of the lamb enjoyed by a growing number of Canadian consumers. Global demand for lamb is high, and so are prices, but supplies are not. Demand has been growing in Canada and traditional European markets and is now growing in emerging markets in the Middle East, South East Asia and China. The global giants in lamb production Australia, New Zealand and South America have been faced with combined challenges, such as severe weather which can disrupt lamb production and the growing competition for resources (land, feed, and water) that leads to higher production costs and lower profitability for producers and processors. Some production/demand statistics: • Australia’s flock hit an all time low of 67 million sheep in 2010 due to weather (drought, fires, and floods) all of

which impacted feed supply. Australia is slowly rebuilding flocks except in key states where drought is still a factor. Australia is seeing growing domestic consumption and notable growth in demand from the Middle East, South East Asia and China. • New Zealand breeding ewe numbers declined to 22 million and in 2010, when adverse weather reduced the lamb crop by 10 per cent. While slow rebuilding is taking place, NZ has been unable to meet export demand from key markets in the European Union (EU) and North America. • Uruguay’s production fell 40 per cent in 2010. Their largest market is Brazil and then the EU. • Argentina exports a small amount of lamb with 59 per cent of exports going to the EU. Using Alberta as an example, higher prices of the past few years have resulted in slight increases in their breeding flocks; 2.0 per cent from January 2009 to January 2010, and again by 4.5 per cent to January 2011, says Hosford. More lambs and good prices are part of the profitability picture. As in all of Canada, Alberta producers, processors, industry organizations and government have agreed there is a need to collaborate to build a profitable industry. For more information and full article please visit: http:// www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/newslett.nsf/all/ agnw18192. OSN

Pr o d u c e r R e m i t t ances

Regulations made under the authority of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Act require that producers pay to the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency a licence fee per head for all sheep and lambs sold other than to a sales barn or abattoir (includes breeding or farmgate sales). This applies to private livestock auctions as well. Unless such licence fees are paid either to the sales yards, abattoirs, or OSMA, these sales are not legal under the regulations. If such sales apply to you, please fill out the following and forward your payments within one month to:

The Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency 130 Malcolm Road, Guelph, Ontario N1K 1B1 Sheep/Lamb: Fee is $1.80 per head plus 13% HST

Producer #___________________

Name:_____________________________________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________________________________________ City:______________________________________ Prov.:________________Postal Code:________________________ Date of Sale:________________________________ Date Remitted:______________________________________ # of sheep/lamb sold:________________________ Lic. Fees (x $1.80=) $_________________________________ ___________________________________________ Pay by phone using Visa or MasterCard 519-836-0043

Plus 13% HST

$________________________________

Total Remitted $________________________________ OSN J u n e 2 0 1 1

district news

District 1

Counties of Essex, Kent, Lambton, Middlesex, and Elgin Upcoming Meetings April 5th – not confirmed May 3rd – Bill Davies (trapper and livestock evaluator) speaking on Coyotes – habits, prevention and claims June – working on a Sat sheep dog demonstration – details to follow August – local sheep farm tour in our District – details to follow September – Annual meeting in Rutherford Director Chair Vice-Chair Secretary/Treasurer

Fraser Hodgson John Sipkens Bill Duffield Michelle Prudom

519-786-4176 519-845-3710 519-899-2663 519-845-3998

District 2

Counties of Grey and Bruce Meetings usually held the 1st Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m. For more information contact Glen Porteous at glenporteous@hotmail.com or Keith Grein at mk.grein@bmts.com Director Dennis Fischer 519-363-3819 Chair Vince Stutzki 519-363-6683 Vice-Chair Sarel Smit 519-369-1365 Secretary Kyle Harrison 519-369-3954 Treasurer Jason Emke 519-364-0044

District 3

Counties of Huron, Perth, Waterloo and Oxford March 17 Saturday 1-3pm Open House at the farm of Gary Loney Hwy 119 Uniondale #196934 375 ewes mostly Rideau Arcott housed indoors fed chopped dry hay and wrapped hay. Accelerated lambing raising lambs to 80-100lbs. Everyone is welcome. Contact Neil Mesman 519-504-3089 or neil.mesman@me.com for more information Director Luann Erb 519-393-5512 Chair Ian Van Blyderveen 519-424-3894 Vice Chair Keith Taylor 519-349-2273 Secretary Neil Mesman 519-504-3089 Treasurer John Rock 519-467-0092

District 4

County of Brant, Regional Municipalities of Hamilton-Wentworth, HaldimandNorfolk and Niagara District 4 Meeting March 20th 7:30 at Kohler Ag Center. There will be a Q & A Session with a vet regarding Parasites and Q Fever Director Rob Scott 519-758-0584 Chair Nancy Ireland 905-701-6026 Vice-Chair Secretary Sharon Petheram 519-443-5844 Treasurer Norman Johnson 905-562-4905 46

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march 2012

District 5

County of Wellington and Dufferin and the Regional Municipalities of Halton and Peel Meeting Dates for 2012. Mar. 28, 2012 Apr. 25, 2012 Meeting venues and topics will follow. For more information contact Lene lhband@hotmil.com or call 905.877-2969 or cell at 416.931-3413. Meetings start at 7:30pm for coffee and a time to chat followed by a “special interest” session and then a time for business. We are a social, friendly group always willing to offer help and encouragement to new shepherds. Director Andrew Gordanier 519-925-6502 Chair Daina Hunter 519-843-5441 Vice Chair Ted Brown 905-873-5855 Secretary Lene Band 905-877-2969 Treasurer Dianne Orr 519-928-5302

District 6

County of Simcoe, District Municipality of Muskoka and the District of Parry Sound District 6 will be having Rex Crawford as guest speaker on lambing and lamb health. Meeting will be held in the Stroud-Innisfil Community Centre Banquet Hall on March 22 at 7:30pm. Director Josephine Martenssen- Hemstead 705-487-2466 Chair Peter Harvey 905-729-3196 Vice Chair Markus Wand 705-724-2314 Secretary Grant Cowan 705-436-2236 Treasurer Karen Harvey 905-729-3196

District 7

County of Metropolitan Toronto, Regional Municipalities of York and Durham, Counties of Victoria, Peterborough, and Northumberland District 7 will again be holding Sheep 101, commencing in April. The cost will be $150 and interested parties can contact Rebecca Parker at middlekingdomfarm@gmail.com, or by phone at 905 259 1102. Victoria County Sheep Producers holds its meetings 3rd Weds. of each month, 7:30 at the Oakwood Elevators on Taylor’s Road. District 7 will be holding a traceability education presentation on Mar 21 at the VCSP meeting that night. Director Judy Dening 705-324-3453 Chair Rebecca Parker 705-277-1711 Secretary Donna Aziz 905-852-9252

District 8

Counties of Lennox and Addington, Hastings, Prince Edward, Frontenac and Leeds March meeting - Date TBD - Guest to discuss setbacks etc in fields and pastures April 21 - Farm Visit at Jim Bennett at Elginburg May 26 - 1:00pm- Farm Visit at Dana Vader in Prince Edward County Director Chair Vice-Chair Secretary Treasurer

Mark Ritchie Debi Stoness Jim Sabin Linda Huizenga Pat Purvis

613-634-1212 613-264-6206 613-477-3443 613-477-1393 613-353-5094

District 10

Counties of Russell, Prescott, Glengarry Stormont, Dundas and Grenville, and the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, except the Township of West Carleton and the City of Kanata Website: www.osmadistrict10.ca/ Contact: Colleen Acres â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 613-826-2330 Field Day: For new producers Activities include hoof care, tagging, administering meds, collecting and storing fecal samples, tail docking, castration, selecting sound breeding stock, shearing and wool preparation, and much more. Saturday April 28th, 2012 Location and time TBA Performance Tested Sheep Sale: Aug 4th, 2012

District 9

Counties of Renfrew and Lanark, and the Township of West Carleton and the City of Kanata in the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton Education Day at Horton Community Centre, 1005 Castleford Road, Renfrew. Saturday, March 24, 2012 - 9 AM to 12 noon. Guest speakers will talk about Ram Fertility and Ram and Ewe Nutrition. Pasture Day at Moore Farm, 6021 Carp Road, Kinburn on Saturday May 19. Demonstrations on using electric fencing for rotational grazing, sheep shearing, and planting millet. Displays from several breeders and machinery dealers. Open to all, attend and join in a cookout for lunch. For any inquires about District 9 events contact David Bentley via email claytonsundowner@yahoo.ca. Director Allan Burn 613-264-0801 Chair Christpher Moore 613-832-2182 Vice Chair Shanna Armstrong 613-552-6365 Secretary David Bentley 613-256-1628 Treasurer Judy Senior 613-832-2480

Classifieds

Fall Tour: to Woolgrowers in Carleton Place September 22, 2012 For more information on any of the above events, contact Gary Lapier Director Colleen Acres 613-826-2330 Chair Fred Baker 613-989-5352 Secretary Gary Lapier 613-989-2792 Treasurer Greg Stubbings 613-774-4563

District 11

Counties of Kenora, Rainy River, Thunder Bay, Cochrane, Algoma, Sudbury, Temiskaming, Nippising and Manitoulin OSMA District 11 will have a booth at the Earlton Farm Show April 13/14, 2012 Director Colleen Alloi 705-248-3287 Chair Jim Johnston 705-647-7160 Vice Chair Mark Lenover 705-563-2966 Secretary Debra Garner 705-563-2761 OSN

Want to place an ad? Call Ruth Gilmour at 519-836-0043 for ad rates.

This space is available at the reasonable rate of $34 per issue. Call or email us for our price list. OSN M a r c h 2 0 1 2

Classifieds Emke Cheviots 2012 North Country Cheviot lambs for sale. Logan Emke 849 25 S.R. Brant RR #1, Elmwood, ON N0G 1S0 Office Manager: Missy Emke-Wright 519-364-5087 m_wright17@hotmail.com www.emkelivestock.webs.com

Want to place an ad? Call Ruth Gilmour at 519-836-0043 for ad rates.

MAREMMA WHITE PUPS FOR SALE Pure white coats

• Awesome Sheep Guard Dogs • Will alert Sheep and stand their guard while Sheep run for cover • Far better than Donkeys or Llamas • All Pups raised in Barn with Sheep

Chris Buschbeck & Axel Meister R.R. #3, Markdale, Ontario, Canada N0C 1H0 Telephone (519) 538-2844 Fax (519) 538-1478 Email: wooldrift@bmts.com

Emke livestock Quality Suffolk Sheep

We have a limited number of East Friesian X Arcott ewe lambs for the dairy sector.

Murray Emke & Family

849 25 S.R. Brant RR1 Elmwood, ON, N0G 1S0 Office Manager: Missy Emke-Wright m_wright17@hotmail.com 519-364-5087 • www.emkelivestock.webs.com

“Quality Breeds Quality”

PDK

S HEARI N G Shearing and Tutoring Available

Phone (519)

348-4266

Cell (519) 274-2050

e-mail: peter_kudelka@sympatico.ca

PETER KUDELKA

Box 39, Mitchell, Ont. N0K 1N0

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Contact: LOUIS KONTOS 801 DANFORTH AVE., TORONTO, ONTARIO M4J 1L2

TEL: (416) 469-0733 OR (416) 469-1577 FAX: (416) 462-1564

Call Ken Burgess 705-527-9058

CLUN FOREST REGISTERED SHEEP

• Breeding Stock & F1 Crosses • Closed Flock, Maedi/Visna-Negative • Prolific & High Yielding • Extensive Production Records • Semen and Embryos Approved for Export

Wholesale and Retail Meats We buy Lambs & Sheep for Slaughter

PROLIFIC, TRUE TYPE PERFORMANCE RECORDED Closed Flock Don & Wilma Duncan RR1, 807117 Oxford Road 29 Drumbo, ON, N0J 1G0,

519-463-5511

South African Meat Merino Prolific crosses with supreme carcass quality Don & Wilma Duncan RR1, 807117 Oxford Road 29 Drumbo, ON, N0J 1G0,

519-463-5511

CEDAR CREEK CHAROLLAIS Lower Your Feed Costs With Exceptional Growth Rates Based on SFIP Data Our 2006 Ram Lambs Averaged 0.45 kg ADG We have a Closed Flock, Maedi Visna Tested with “A” Status Ted Skinner & Joanne Jones 2910 Concession Rd. 7, RR 5, Bowmanville, Ontario, L1C 3K6 Phone: 905-263-2102 Fax: 905-263-4388 E-mail: charollais@live.ca

BRITISH MILKSHEEP are a modern breed established in England in the 1980s. The breed averages 300% lambing and the lambs grow quickly to produce heavy weight, lean carcasses as currently in vogue. While being excellent dairy sheep, they are also effective meat flock improvers. In commercial flocks, half-breds usually produce 0.5 lamb per ewe more. Their milking ability ensures vigorous growth of the extra lambs. British Milk Sheep can increase the profitability of your flock. Available in Ontario from

E&E Bzikot, RR1 Conn Tel./Fax (519) 848-5694 E-mail: ee.bzikot@sympatico.ca

EMKE OXFORDS and

HAMPSHIRES

Looking for a ram to add more weight to your next lamb crop?

Craig & Missy Emke

525 8th Concession, RR#1 Elmwood, ON, N0G 1S0

519-364-6840 • m_wright17@hotmail.com www.emkelivestock.webs.com

SLOVAK CUVAC

LGD PUPS FOR SALE Excellent Herd Guardians

Fully White Coats Extemely Cold Tolerant Fast, Agile, Energetic Love to defend and protect Parents imported from Slovakia Purebred, UKC Certified

CALL FRANKIE @ 905 838-0209

Son Risen Farm Specializing in Heritage Breeds with Traditional Breed Types

Dorsets and Suffolks Traditional Breeding Stock Well muscled for superior carcass quality. Australian and British Bloodlines Closed Flock ROP Tested

Purebred Border Cheviots, Shropshires & Southdowns. Also available F1 crossbreds

Andy & Jane Pearson 4102 Line 16 RR#7 • St. Marys ON • N4X 1C9 519-284-4239 sonrisen@gmail.com

Keith and Mary Lamont R.R. 2, Acton, Ontario L7J 2L8 519-853-1975 E-Mail: lamont@sentex.net www.thistlestonefarm.com

Orchardview Farm

Texel Sheep • Top Quality Rams & Ewes • Add Carcass to Any Breed • Maedi Visna Tested

Breeding Stock Available Gordon Walker & Family R.R. #2, Glencoe, Ont. N0L 1M0

(519) 287-5085

CEDAR CREEK SCANNING

Ultrasound Pregnancy Scanning for Sheep, Goats and Alpacas OLIBS Accredited Rebecca Parker, Vet Tech. 858 Hwy 7A East, RR#1, Bethany ON, L0A 1A0 Mobile: (905) 259-1102 E-mail: middlekingdomfarm@gmail.com

Best time to scan is between 45 and 80 days after introduction of ram.

For Sale: Sheep Panels. 8’ long - $35.00. Lambing Pens 5’, 6’, 7’ - $35.00 per panel. FOB Mitchell. Call Peter at 519-348-4266.

Premier breeder at the 2008 Royal Texel Show

MAPLE MEADOW FARMS Est. 1923

Hampshires Suffolks Dorsets Rideau Arcotts Rams and Ewes (SFIP tested) Commercial Ewe lambs (Suffolk – Rideau) (Dorset Rideau) Maedi Visna Monitored 6830 Belmeade Road • Osgoode ON K0A 2W0 Phone: 613-826-2330 • Fax: 613-826-1076 www.maplemeadows.ca

Duff Farms

Barn Curtains

Top Genetic Selection • SFIP & EweByte based • Maintaining 3 ram lines

Superior Quality Ventilation Systems Also Purebred Rideau Ewe Lambs.

Rideau Yearlings & Lambs

High Health Status • Closed Flock since 1995 • Maedi Visna Status “A” • National Scrapie Program • Ontario Sheep Health Program Glen & Sharon Duff R R #2, Rockw ood, O N , N 0B 2K 0 519-856-9935 Email: rideausheep@sympatico.ca

Your Natural Ventilation

LM Bauman Inc. RR#1 St. Clements N0B 2M0 Call 519-501-7191 Fax 519-699-6209 OSN M a r c h 2 0 1 2

BREEDER