Manitoba Agriculture has hired a sheep and goat specialist to help
advance the province’s livestock industry.
Wray Whitmore will work with producer associations and other industry
stakeholders to provide support to Manitoba’s sheep producers and meat
goat farms.
Expertise will be provided in breeding, management, nutrition and
ration formulation. There will also be an emphasis on maintaining a
strong range-forage system to maximize returns on investment.
Whitmore was Alberta Agriculture’s sheep specialist for 14 years before
joining Manitoba Agriculture.
He has conducted extensive research and is finishing his doctoral
degree in animal physiology.
Manitoba agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk said his qualifications
and industry experience will ensure he is a valuable resource to new
and established producers.
Manitoba has 650 meat goat farms, which market 6,600 head annually.
Most goat meat is used domestically.
The most recent statistics show that the province’s 500 sheep producers
marketed 33,000 sheep and lambs in 1998 for the domestic and export
markets.
