FOAM LAKE, Sask. – Standing over a hot grill for four days at a Montreal food show earlier this year paid off for Gordon Schroeder and other Saskatchewan lamb producers.
The general manager of Canadian Prairie Lamb Inc. signed a deal with Costco Nov. 10 to put processed lamb products in 38 of its eastern Canadian stores.
“Now we’ve got to deliver 8,500 pounds for the initial order of cooked marinated lamb kebabs,” Schroeder told a conference focusing on adding value to Saskatchewan agriculture.
The sale is the result of five years of effort by about 150 Saskatchewan producers to get their product on to more Canadian plates. Only 45 percent of the lamb consumed in Canada is produced domestically, and imports account for much of the familiar lamb chop and rack of lamb cuts.
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The producers wanted to get away from the cottage industry label they carry, add value to their product and make money.
They put in their own money, received some from the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board checkoff and took advantage of matching government grants to meet their goal of developing convenient, tasty products that would be available across the country.
They formed a value chain that includes producers, feedlots, a packer, the Saskatchewan Food Centre, marketers, distributors and, ultimately, consumers.
Schroeder said they considered the new generation co-operative model, but decided it wouldn’t work.
“One problem with the new gen model is that often the producer is tied to deliver and we have no federal facility in this province that kills lambs,” he said.
The value chain works because each member adds value to the lamb on its way to the consumer.
Schroeder said thousands of taste tests at food shows, supermarkets and restaurants, plus a realistic market assessment, led the new venture to focus on three products: cooked lamb in Moroccan orange sauce; marinated kebabs; and appetizer meatballs with dipping sauce.
The heat-and-serve products were designed to add value to lower quality cuts.
“Our company does not sell racks or chops, but Sunterra does,” Schroeder said, referring to the Alberta packer that is a partner in the value chain.
Sunterra markets those prime cuts and Canadian Prairie Lamb buys the trim and ships it back to the Food Centre in Saskatoon for processing.
“We’re processing at the Food Centre because we’re small,” Schroeder said. “We’re going to outgrow it.”
The company, which was officially incorporated Oct. 1, is already planning for that day. At its annual meeting last weekend, Schroeder received approval to go to the Saskatchewan Securities Commission and launch a share offering designed to raise $200,000 for equipment and working capital.
Voting shares will be offered to producers first, and then preferred shares will be made available to the public.
The company will go to producers initially because of their commitment to getting the venture off the ground.
“But we said if they’re not prepared (to invest) we’re not going to stop now,” said Schroeder. He expects the shares to be selling by Jan. 1.
The company also expects to fill its Costco order by that date, when new retail packaging should be ready. Cartons, boxes and UPC codes are now required.
Canadian Prairie Lamb will continue to promote its products in Saskatchewan restaurants and target other retailers like Federated Co-op. Food service giant Sysco Corp. is also interested in the products, Schroeder said.
And, depending on sales in the East, western lamb could eventually make its way into western Costco stores.
