Phil Kolodychuk doesn’t need Statistics Canada to tell him the Alberta sheep industry is looking up, but it’s a nice confirmation.
Alberta’s flock size as of Jan. 1 was 132,700, up 4.5 percent from 127,000 in January 2010, said a report released by Statistics Canada.
The most dramatic change was a 36 percent increase in the size of the replacement lamb flock, which climbed to 12,100 lambs from 8,900 in the same one-year period.
“A lot of producers saw the prices were pretty good and kept back a lot of their ewe lambs, while others saw opportunity in our industry,” said Kolodychuk, chair of Alberta Lamb Producers.
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The combination of high prices and strong demand for lamb has all livestock producers looking enviously at the sheep industry.
Unlike the beef and hog industries, which rely on exports, the Canadian sheep industry supplies less than 50 percent of the demand for lamb within Canada.
“There’s lots of room to grow and opportunity out there,” said Kolodychuk of Bluesky, Alta.
Last year, Alberta lamb producers launched a campaign to promote the profitability of the industry to possible new entrants and encourage existing producers to expand their flocks to help meet the growing demand for lamb.
In 2010, 53 sheep producers participated in the third year of the Alberta Lamb Traceability pilot project that uses radio frequency ear tagging systems to help producers manage information about their flocks.
Kolodychuk said he’s hoping the new traceability technology will also help increase ewe numbers.
Statistics Canada reported ewe numbers increased by almost four percent from 81,000 head in January 2010 to 84,200 head January 2011.
“People are making better decisions now with the new technology,” he said.
With strong prices, high demand and new tools to help producers increase flock size, Kolodychuk sees no reason why the provincial flock can’t increase five percent each year.
“It’s a good goal to achieve.”
It’s not just Alberta that has seen an increase in sheep numbers.
Across Canada, total sheep and lambs on farms increased to 813,600 this January from 805,500 in January 2010.
In Saskatchewan total sheep numbers increased 2.8 percent to 90,000 from 87,500.
Gordon Schroeder, executive director of the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board, said everyone has worked hard to increase production and give producers more confidence to increase their flocks.
Recent predator compensation announcements and increased prices have convinced producers there is a future in the industry.
“Now they’re starting to realize the long-term forecast looks good,” said Schroeder.
The most notable increase is in the number of replacement lambs in the Saskatchewan flock. Producers increased the number of replacement ewes almost 10 percent from 10,400 to 11,500.
“I think we will see an even bigger increase in July,” said Schroeder, when the next Statistics Canada numbers are released.
It’s a different story in Manitoba where total sheep numbers dropped 10 percent from 59,000 in 2010 to 53,000 head this year.
Lucien Lesage, chair of the Manitoba Sheep Association, said there are several factors influencing the continuing decline in the sheep flock.
A refundable checkoff has limited the amount of money the volunteer board has to promote the sheep industry in the province and lobby government for increased help.
The average flock size is 50 ewes, which limits producers’ ability to sell their sheep for top dollar. The closest federal slaughter plant is in Ontario. Predators are also a big problem.
“It’s a snowball effect,” said Lesage of Notre Dame, Man., who hopes higher prices will encourage the expansion of existing flocks and new producer to enter the industry.
Lesage said recent high prices have attracted interest from other livestock producers, including former pregnant mare’s urine operators.
