The $1 check-off fee for the Alberta Sheep and Wool Commission shouldn’t be attached to the mandatory identification program, say some sheep producers.
Sheep and lambs sold in Canada must have a Canadian Sheep Identification Program pink ear tag before they leave their farms. When Alberta producers buy the mandatory ear tags, they must also pay the checkoff to their provincial organization that promotes the sheep industry.
“I don’t think the checkoff should be attached with the pink tags,” said Mike Grimmeyer, who sent out a 12 question survey to sheep producers asking if they felt the same way.
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“Traceability should be for traceability. It’s being used to collect the checkoff,” said Grimmeyer, of Clyde, Alta.,who owns about 200 ewes.
Miles Buswell, who manages sheep and goat sales at the Beaver Hill Auction, agreed. He believes the commission is more concerned about collecting the checkoff than encouraging producers to stay in the sheep industry.
“Personally, I don’t feel they’re doing enough for the checkoff,” said Buswell.
As the manager of sheep sales, Buswell sees more people leaving the industry than wanting to join it.
“If it keeps going at this rate, we won’t have an industry in short order.”
Irene Rutledge, chair of the Alberta Sheep and Wool Commission, said keeping the checkoff attached to the ear tag is key to the survival of the organization. If the checkoff wasn’t attached, to the ear tag, Rutledge doesn’t know how many producers would voluntarily send in their fee.
Also, by linking it to the ear tag, sheep producers only need to pay the checkoff once, not each time a sheep is sold, like cattle.
“One sheep cannot be charged 10 times if it changes hands that often, like cattle,” said Rutledge.
Buswell said the Alberta Sheep and Wool Commission shouldn’t be the only source for the sheep identification ear tags. He said they should be available at farm supply stores as cattle tags are. During a recent sheep sale, one producer was forced to take his sheep home because he didn’t have ear tags.
Rutledge said with only 120,000 tags sold each year, there isn’t enough volume to have tags scattered throughout the province.
Since sending out the questionnaire, Grimmeyer believes the biggest problem is a lack of communication between producers and the organization. About 30 producers replied to his survey.
“It shows me people want more information,” he said.
This fall, sheep producers will be asked to vote on increasing the checkoff by 50 cents to $1.50. The 53 producers who voted in the fall election, out of a total of 2,000 eligible, rejected a 30 cent increase last year.
“To vote, we need to have more information. We shouldn’t have to go looking for the information,” Grimmeyer said.
