Manitoba sheep producers will vote later this year on whether to have a
refundable checkoff for their industry.
The vote, expected sometime in the fall, will decide whether the
province’s sheep producers will support a $1 refundable checkoff on
every sheep or lamb sold in the province.
If approved, the money collected would be used for market development,
lobbying on issues that affect the industry and providing producers
with information on production and herd health.
For the checkoff to go ahead, 60 percent of those voting would have to
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approve the proposal.
Producers would pay the checkoff when buying national ID tags for their
animals, which will be mandatory for the sheep industry in 2003.
The Manitoba Sheep Association wants to link the checkoff to the
purchase of national ID tags to help keep administrative costs down.
The checkoff proposal is part of a strategic plan to guide the
development of Manitoba’s sheep industry. That plan arose from a sheep
initiative that received substantial support from the Manitoba Rural
Adaptation Council.
Manitoba Sheep Association president Eric Thornhill said funding from a
checkoff is critical if the plan is to move forward. As the industry
expands, it is taxing the ability of volunteers in the association to
keep pace with all that needs attention.
This is not the first time Manitoba sheep producers have pondered the
issue. There was an effort a few years ago to get a checkoff in the
province, but it failed. There wasn’t enough time before that vote for
volunteers to sell the idea to producers, Thornhill said.
He estimates there are about 500 sheep producers in Manitoba, with
about 83,000 sheep.
Only about a quarter of the producers are members of the provincial
sheep association, which will add to the challenge of promoting the
merits of a checkoff.
Saskatchewan and Alberta already have provincial checkoffs for their
sheep industries.
Like Manitoba, British Columbia is without a checkoff for its sheep
industry.
Thornhill said if all provinces across Canada had a checkoff for sheep,
it would then be possible to apply for a checkoff on imports, which
would add to the money available to develop the domestic industry.
