Mediterranean lamb sausage, cooked lamb in Moroccan orange sauce, parmesan and Greek feta cheese meatballs and marinated lamb kabobs: this list of exotic dishes makes you want to go for lunch right away.
It is also part of the latest effort by sheep producers to develop their industry, and has prompted them to take a look at a new approach to generating revenue: the value chain.
“Saskatchewan racks and lamb chops are moving well, but we need to get the trim, shoulders and legs to the market somehow,” said Gordon Schroeder, executive director of the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board and general manager of Canadian Prairie Lamb.
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“We figure that by preparing dishes that are fully cooked and ready from frozen to hot on the plate in four minutes, our partners and Canadian Prairie Lamb together can generate significant revenue through increased consumption of lamb.”
After incorporating in 2003 and issuing shares earlier this year, Canadian Prairie Lamb entered into an alliance with Sunterra Meats and the Saskatchewan Food Centre in Sask-atoon with the goal of developing a new line of frozen lamb dishes from Saskatchewan.
These frozen meals are now marketed through small outlets such as Saskatchewan butcher shops, but the eastern Canadian market has great potential. To tap into this market, Canadian Prairie Lamb has developed a value chain.
“Call it a business philosophy or a business development tool, a value chain does not simply mean that value is added to a product. It is much more than that,” said Sherri Dobbs, a value chain development specialist at Saskatchewan Agriculture.
“A value chain is developing alliances with different components of the supply chain, who work collaboratively for mutual benefits.”
She said one of the greatest challenges when promoting value chains is to ensure that the players have an accurate picture of how they work and how they differ from the traditional supplier-buyer business relationships.
In the case of Canadian Prairie Lamb, primary producers enter into an alliance with a processor that prepares the meat for a food preparation facility, which cooks the meat, prepares sauces and packages meals for shipment and distribution.
“It takes work to put an arrangement like this into place,” Dobbs said.
“There has to be rewards for all members of the value chain. Its strength is in the relationships built between the links themselves and the rewards that ensue from these relationships.”
Sandra Purdy of Prairie Berries in Keeler, Sask., is familiar with value chains. The company grows, processes and markets saskatoon berries and saskatoon berry value-add products nationally and internationally.
Recently, Prairie Berries played a key role in the development of a new company comprising 16 other independent saskatoon berry growers who collectively market fruit through Saskatoon Berry Partners Inc.
“Our consortium of producers has committed to providing Saputo all the saskatoon berry puree it requires to produce its saskatoon berry flavoured yogurts, through Prairie Berries’ processing facilities,” Purdy said.
“Saputo will, in turn, distribute the yogurts through its own channels. This generates revenue opportunities much beyond those available for syrups, pie fillings and jams on their own.”
Purdy said the commitment between value chain partners goes beyond volume deliveries, touching on something more fundamental: information sharing at all levels.
“To give Saputo the exact product that it needs, we need to know what texture of berry puree works best for their processing needs. It is to Saputo’s advantage to share this with us. They know it. We know it. There has to be a collective commitment to increasing efficiencies at each step of the process, for it can reduce costs and eventually contribute to increasing each value chain partner’s share of the revenue.”
Purdy said that if Prairie Berries knows it’s more convenient for Saputo to work with puree in five-gallon pails rather than bags, steps can be taken to facilitate everyone’s needs.
Clearly, value chains are long-term business development tools to seize new market opportunities.
Purdy is confident of the potential for this approach.
“It has to be a win-win situation for everyone from the start. As for the rest, the market will tell us in due course. We’re banking that markets will like our move in the long run.”
