Update on solar panels

It has been a while since I posted on the subject of our solar panels on the barn roof, so here is the state of play. We now have the panels on the roof and the electrical work is all done and inspected. We are now waiting for Hydro-one to approve and hook us up.

An important piece of information was missing from the instructions from Ontario Power. There is a Form C which has to be filled in by your solar power company and e-mailed into the Hydro-one people. It important to e-mail-not fax, which we did originally-as their system for processing the faxes is not working!. Don't simply wait and hope for the best. You have to be pro-active and phone the Hydro-one people.

Another important point: The MicroFIT number has to be in subject line of the e-mail when you submit the Form C. They do not tell you this either in any written instructions. I assume they use telepathy to communicate!

It is a shame that this is taking so long, as our solar panel providers, ESEI solar, have been wonderful, and very quick and efficient. Their people even worked in the snow to get the panels up on the barn roof.

Sheep prices at Hoards Station

We took the last of our ram lambs in to Hoards Station livestock auction last Tuesday, the 13th December. The prices were about $2 a pound live weight for 85 lb lambs.
The last sale before Xmas is usually the best of the year, but there were hardly any people there as the weather was cold, windy and snowy, and the usual farmer's market was closed for that reason.
We have been debating with some of our fellow sheep farmers whether it is better to ship lambs to Cookstown north of Toronto. It is a bigger market and the prices are a little better, but is it worth the $7 or so for trucking and then there is shrinkage- loss of weight due to lack of food and water during transportation and waiting to be sold.

Solar update

Well, we have just got the conditional contract offer from the Ontario Power Authority for the MicroFIT program, so the next step is to contact the solar panel installers and get the panels up on the barn roof.

Going solar

We have decided to participate in the Ontario governments MicroFIT solar energy program as we have a lovely long sheep loafing barn with a south facing roof-perfect for solar panels. We are getting a 10 KW system which will only take up part of the roof. This is the maximum allowed under the program in order to get the 8O.2 cents a KW hour that Ontario Hydro will pay. This is for a roof-mounted system. A ground mounted one pays a bit less.

An engineer came out yesterday and approved the structure, with a couple of minor repairs where Jim had managed to hit the support truss with his tractor. It needed to be fixed anyway.

We had already applied for a contract with the MicroFIT people. They are backlogged -what's new?- so it could take a few weeks before the panels arrive. Anyone thinking of doing this, please do not put any money down until you have one of these contracts signed and ready to go. If you apply now, you will have to wait until the new year for MicroFIT approval.

We will keep you posted as to our progress with this scheme.

REGION 8 SHEEP MEETING is on Monday 18th Oct at 7 p.m at the primary school near the hospital in Napanee. Sheri will be talking on sheep hoof trimming, horn dis-budding and other topics.

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.

Aussie joke

I thought you might enjoy this joke (not for kids)

The Ventriloquist:

An Australian ventriloquist visiting New Zealand walks into a Small village and sees a local sitting on his verandah patting his dog.

He figures he'll have a little fun, so he says to the Kiwi

'G'day, mind if I talk to your dog?'

Villager: 'The dog doesn't talk, you stupid Aussie.'

Ventriloquist: 'Hello dog, how's it going mate?'

Dog: 'Yeah, doin' all right.'

Kiwi: (look of extreme shock)

Ventriloquist: 'Is this villager your owner?' (pointing at the Villager)

Dog: 'Yep'

Ventriloquist: 'How does he treat you?'

Dog: 'Yeah, real good. He walks me twice a day, feeds me great food And takes me to the lake once a week to play.'

Kiwi: (look of utter disbelief)

Ventriloquist: 'Mind if I talk to your horse?'

Kiwi: 'Uh, the horse doesn't talk either...I think.'

Ventriloquist: 'Hey horse, how's it going?'

Horse: 'Cool'

Kiwi: (absolutely dumbfounded)

Ventriloquist: 'Is this your owner?' (Pointing at the villager)

Horse: 'Yep'

Ventriloquist: How does he treat you?

Horse: 'Pretty good, thanks for asking. He rides me regularly, Brushes me down often and keeps me in the shed to protect me from the Elements.'

Kiwi: (total look of amazement)

Ventriloquist: 'Mind if I talk to your sheep?'

Kiwi: (in a panic) 'The sheep's a f*****' liar

Zone 8 Sheep Meeting

The next meeting of Zone 8 Sheep Producers Ontario will be held on Monday 20th September at 7. p.m at the St Charles school in Napanee. The school is located just north of the lights at the hospital.
There will be an election of officers for the AGM.

The guest speaker will be Marcus Wand, who will be answering questions on the new RIF tags sheep identification program.