STONY PLAIN, Alta. – Alberta sheep producers are voting on whether to increase their checkoff to $1.50 a head from $1, the first increase in 25 years.
However, the controversial issue hasn’t been enough to persuade producers to attend meetings and cast their ballots. Only 19 of 289 eligible voters attended the central Alberta zone meeting Nov. 1.
In an e-mail, northern Alberta sheep producer Lianne Read said attendance at her zone meeting was the same as last year.
“There is nowhere near enough producers taking an active interest in the industry.”
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Hank Dorenbos of Barrhead, Alta., waffled before he voted.
“I know they need money. I’d like to see it increase, but not by 50 cents.”
Last year a vote to increase the Alberta Sheep and Wool Commission’s checkoff to $1.30 a head from $1 was defeated by 15 votes. Only 53 of the province’s 2,000 sheep producers voted.
Dorenbos said the executive is doing a good job representing sheep producers on its shoestring budget, but doesn’t know if it has convinced enough producers of the need for a fee increase.
“I feel it’s not going to pass. People around here are kind of stubborn,” he said.
“There should be more people here.”
Dennis Donkers of Barrhead, said extra costs always seem to come from producers’ pockets. If sheep producers don’t support their own industry what is its future, he asked.
Ronald Den Broeder of Barrhead said since BSE was discovered in Canada in 2003, it has become more important for the sheep industry to work together in its discussions with government. Directors need to be compensated for their hours of work with government and industry officials.
Commission director Florence Henning said the sheep industry isn’t moving forward because so much time is spent dealing with day-to-day issues rather than thinking about how to expand the industry.
Every penny of the commission’s budget is carefully examined before it’s spent, she added.
It holds conference calls instead of meetings in person to keep costs down. When a meeting is called, the commission can only afford to pay for one night’s hotel accommodation for each member of the seven-person committee, despite the long drive to the southern Alberta office.
“We can’t afford to have a face to face meeting,” Henning said.
“That’s not the proper way to do business.”
A 50-cent check-off increase would give the commission an extra $60,000 and increase its budget to $200,000 from $140,000, depending on sheep sales.
Henning said every year the commission is asked to spend more time sitting on government committees to discuss on-farm food safety, sheep identification and herd health concerns.
Government money is available for research and promotion, but much of it needs to be matched by the sheep industry’s own dollars. The commission estimates each check-off dollar creates $2.72 in project funding.
Sheep producers will find out in mid-November during a symposium in Calgary whether the check-off increase passed.
