Canadian Prairie Lamb Inc. hopes to finance its value-added business by raising $200,000 through a public share offering.
President Gordon Schroeder said more working capital will buy the specialized equipment needed to produce raw and pre-cooked products such as oven-ready lamb kabobs, meatball appetizers and sausages.
Each share will cost investors $250. Class A shares come with voting rights while Class B shares will guarantee a five percent return.
“Our plan is to take 35 percent of the net profits after taxes and divide them among Class B shareholders,” said Schroeder, who preferred the share sale over a bank loan.
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He is confident response will be strong to the offering, which began March 17 and concludes May 31.
Schroeder, who is also executive director of the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board, said producers had carried the venture until now, but they were hard pressed to provide more funding because of the poor farm economy.
The board launched the Canadian Prairie Lamb initiative in 2001 to add value to sheep and identify potential uses for harder-to-move cuts.
Saskatchewan is the fourth largest sheep producer in Canada, with 1,000 farmers raising 100,000 animals a year.
Schroeder said there is much room for growth in the sheep industry, with Canadian farmers producing only 45 percent of the lamb that the domestic market requires.
