WETASKIWIN, Alta. – Martin Kaiser says he cannot afford to graze his sheep with land prices at more than $300,000 a quarter,.
The only way Kaiser can raise sheep within the shadow of Edmonton is to keep them in corrals and use the land to grow more profitable crops.
“I think you only have two ways: extremely intensive or totally the opposite with no buildings, no infrastructure and lots of cheap land,” he said.
The three extra quarters of land he needs to graze sheep would mean an additional $94,000 in land payments. Sheep prices are good, he said, but not that good.
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Raising sheep in corrals has its benefits. Kaiser has never lost a sheep to a coyote, which is a significant bonus when coyotes can sneak off with 10 percent of the lambs in a flock. As well, lambs on clean bedding don’t need to be dewormed, which is another saving.
Kaiser started with a few sheep in 1998 and now has 1,600 ewes. He hopes to have 2,000 by the end of the year.
Using mainly Rideau Arcott, a Canadian developed breed, Kaiser averages 2.6 lambs per ewe per year but is trying to increase that to three lambs per ewe in a 12 month period.
“We can’t function without two. We can hardly function with two,” he said.
Kaiser used to think orphan lambs were more hassle than they were worth but now believes they are worth spending the extra time.
The ewes lamb throughout the year to keep a steady income and wring a premium out of packers who need lambs each week to slaughter.
Once weaned, lambs are moved to a covered feedlot pen where they’re fed a complete mixed ration or grain and silage.
