Finding opportunities | Sheep producers can make direct sales, but it isn’t always easy
NISKU, Alta. — Lamb producers don’t often get into business because they love marketing, but it’s one of the most important parts of their farming operation. To help lamb producers make the right marketing decisions, the Alberta Lamb Producers brought together four different marketing specialists at a Sept. 6 event in Nisku. “It may be […] Read moreTag Archives Sheep — page 3
Genomic breeding in sheep a tedious task
VANCOUVER — The dairy world has made astronomical gains in using genomics to improve breeding lines, but the sheep sector is different with its numerous breeds and crossbreeds. “In sheep, the existing data that we have measured already is of limited value,” said Julius Van der Werf of Sheep Industry Innovation in Armidale, Australia. Rapid […] Read more
Rancher helping to preserve breed
Soay sheep | B.C. breeder building a flock of sheep originally from northern Scotland
BARRIERE, B.C. — Erin Wilson feels a special affinity with an ancient breed of sheep. The Soay, with their brown woolly fleeces and curving horns, have lived in northern Scotland for centuries. Wilson’s ancestors tended those sheep, and she is now striving to build a breeding flock of this rare breed at her farm near […] Read more
Scrapie eradication possible through selective breeding
Scrapie, which was first documented in Spanish Merino sheep in 1732, is the most ancient and widespread of all the diseases classified as transmissible spongi-form encephalopathies. It is similar to BSE and chronic wasting disease, affecting the brains and spinal cords of sheep and goats. An infectious prion protein is suspected to be the cause. […] Read more
Technology essential in numbers game: producer
Information tells the tale | Facts and figures on an animal’s history are required to make smart culling decisions
LEDUC, Alta. — Pat Smith doesn’t depend on a visual examination when deciding whether to cull or keep sheep on his farm in southern Manitoba. He makes these decisions by the numbers. There is no room for guesswork when more than 2,500 ewes are bred to lamb triplets, quads or quints every eight months, Smith […] Read more
Sheep producer gets hand from technology
ACME, Alberta. — Ryan Albers has worked around sheep his whole life. He got his first lamb when he was six years old. But his years of experience would not be enough to manage his 15,000 head feedlot near Acme, Alta., were it not for modern technology. Albers bought the feedlot almost three years ago […] Read more
Sheep producer gets hand from technology
Information gathering | Computers monitor weight gain, medications and withdrawal periods
ACME, Alta. — Ryan Albers has worked around sheep his whole life. He got his first lamb when he was six years old. But his years of experience would not be enough to manage his 15,000 head feedlot near Acme, Alta., were it not for modern technology. Albers bought the feedlot almost three years ago […] Read moreTop ram sells for $1,650
The top selling ram at the Pound Maker sale in Fort Macleod, Alta., May 24 went for $1,650, which delighted consignors Bert and Andrelei Grisnich. It was bought by Paul Preston of Hays, Alta. The sixth annual sale featured 106 head with an average price of $866. That’s better than last year’s sale average of […] Read more
RFID program deadline March 1
March 1 is the deadline for Alberta lamb producers to apply for funding through the Sheep RFID Technology Assistance Program. Producers who want to use radio identification technologies in their flocks can be reimbursed for 70 percent of costs of eligible hand-held readers, RFID software and training costs, to a maximum of $5,000 per sheep […] Read more
Fatal disease confirmedin sheep
A single case of atypical scrapie was confirmed in an Alberta sheep in January. Dr. Bob Cooper, a veterinary program specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said the case was discovered as part of the national surveillance program to eradicate scrapie in Canada. The surveillance program tests samples of sheep and goats for scrapie […] Read more
