OSMA talk on RIF tags

It was an interesting meeting at the Region 8 AGM on Monday night. There were at least 16 people present as all the sheep breeders are interested in the new RIF tagging system to be introduced in about a year from now.
The main concern of sheep producers is the high cost. The tags cost just under $2 each, which maybe OK for a cow or steer that is worth $1000, but not OK for a $150-$250 sheep.
Farmers with the largest herds were the most concerned, as most of their sales are to livestock sales barns for meat, and not such a high proportion of high end registered breeding stock.

One estimate of the costs per sheep in just one sale is about $20. This would include trucking, auction fees, OSMA check-off fees and tagging. This does not include the cost of feed, deworming etc.

OSMA check-off fees are also increasing, just to add to the financial burden a little more.
There was some discussion of funding of "borderline" or irrelevant research projects. People at the meeting felt there could be some cost cutting.

If you are concerned about this, please attend the OSMA meeting in Guelph in November.
I expect to be there.

District 8 meeting

The next meeting of the OSMA District 8 will be held at the school staff room in Napanee on Monday, November 23rd at 7p.m. Free refreshments.

Contact me for details

District 8 sheep meeting

District 8 of Ontario Sheep meeting was held at the school just north of the hospital in Napanee last Tuesday. It was the AGM and the executive has stayed the same as last year. The guest speaker was Murray Hunt who is the new chairman of OSMA.
There was some discussion as to whether Ontario lamb should be classified as "Special" or whether it should take it's place next to cheap chicken by increasing production. It is obviously better to keep it as a luxury food.

There was further discussion on the added potential costs of the new RIF tags. The abattoirs as going to have to increase their charges to cover their costs in addition to our costs of the actual tags and the scanner/readers.

The next Distrist 8 meeting will be at the same location at the Charles school on Monday October 19th at 7p.m. Contact me if you need directions

Just for fun here are pictures of our new baby llamas -both females.

District 8 Xmas dinner

The sheep roducers of District 8 - not just for Katahdin farms, but open to all types of sheep owners- had their annual Xmas dinner and party at the Wilderness Restaurant just outside Kingston. YOu can see it from HWY 401.

Its a little on the expensive side, but the meals are definitely worth it. I managed to win a "door prize" which was a box of Kleenex decorated with sheep pictures in a nice re-usable cloth shopping bag. Don't forget to take these with you when you go shopping to save from using plastic bags. Leave them in the car all the time and then you will always have them with you.javascript:void(0)

OSMA AGM in Guelph, Ontario

I just got back from the OSMA (Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency) AGM as I am a delegate from District 8.
As usual, there were some interesting speakers on subjects such as sheep predators. Apparently it is impossible to tell the difference between coyotes and wolves in certain parts of Ontario. Wolves are a protected species in some areas.

Other topics covered were the rising price of corn affecting profit margins of red meat, the state of the sheep industry in Ontario, scrapie, and a presentation from the Canadian Wool Growers' Association.
There were many questions about the finances and budget of OSMA, and most were answered to the members satisfaction. They are still without a general manager as they have been unable to find a suitable candidate.

The lamb at the dnner was a bit tough and not a good advertisement for the industry! It should have been cooked much slower. However the lunch on the following day was great. There were lamb skewers Greek style with Greek salad followed by a wonderful selection of cakes and deserts.

Tagging sheep

The sheep breeders associations in Ontario are becoming concerned about the new proposed RRIF tagging system for sheep. Although we agree that an identification system for sheep is important for tracking down sources of infectious diseases etc. we are all concerned about the increased cost to producers. These tags contain bar codes that can only be read by special scanners, which are quite expensive, as are the tags themselves. Sheep farmers with flocks varying from hundreds to even several thousand head of sheep, will face huge increases in their production costs.
District 8 is planning a meeting to discuss this problem. Dates and info to follow.