STONY PLAIN, Alta. – Doug Laurie is not like a border collie quietly
gathering a flock of sheep. He’s more like a terrier latched onto a
pant leg until he gets some attention.
Every day since July, Laurie has pestered government officials, sheep
specialists and hay producers in an effort to help save the Alberta
sheep industry.
High feed prices and low sheep prices have already forced hundreds of
sheep producers to sell their flocks, and Laurie worries that without
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immediate help, Alberta’s flock will drop to less than 50,000 ewes by
next year from 150,000.
“One more year like this will kill it,” said Laurie from his farm home
south of Stony Plain.
His goal is to do whatever he can to save the small flocks that make up
much of Alberta’s ewe numbers, or make enough noise until others take
up the cause.
“There doesn’t seem to be anyone else willing to take it on,” said
Laurie, who accused Alberta Agriculture and the Alberta Sheep and Wool
Commission of ignoring the problem.
Producers with only a few sheep don’t have political clout to get the
attention of politicians.
“I’ve asked everyone I possibly can if there was any freight assistance
to bring feed into the region, and you either get ignored or told
nothing.”
He said the commission, which looks after the Alberta sheep industry,
has pretended that the mass flock sell-off isn’t a problem.
“They’ve done nothing. They think it’s self healing,” he said.
“The consequences will be that the sheep industry has been weakened
severely because of a lack of action on their behalf.”
Instead of waiting for others to take up the cause of producers with
10, 20 or 60 sheep, Laurie has taken on the job himself.
When Alberta Agriculture established a website to match producers who
need feed with hay producers, Laurie posted his own website for sheep
producers.
He designed a bumper sticker, “hay buddy, can you spare a bale or two.”
He e-mails feed shortage updates each week.
He calls on contacts from his days as organizer of the Central Alberta
Sheep and Goat Sales at Edmonton Stockyards to help in the search for
feed.
And his efforts seem to be working because he has gathered a list of
good-news stories.
He tells of a large farmer delivering a few bales of straw to a small
sheep producer, or other farmers willing to share their feed with
others.
“That’s just the kick you need to get you in high gear, to get you
going again.”
Last week a good-hearted Manitoba farmer brought a truckload of
high-quality alfalfa hay to Laurie’s farm for a reasonable price. The
600 small square bales will be shared among 15 small producers for $6 a
piece.
Audrey Lalonde of Entwistle, Alta., managed to nab 50 of the bales for
her 75 sheep.
“Every bale we get means we have another chance to stay in the sheep
business,” said Lalonde, who has managed to scrounge a few bales for
her cattle, horses and sheep.
Laurie wants to stockpile another load of hay to help sheep producers
through the winter.
His next project is to contact the major sponsors involved in the Say
Hay concert to see if they will directly help sheep producers not lucky
enough to win a hay lottery.
“This is kind of fun to do. You help the farmers try to maintain their
flocks.”
