Executive Director News by Gord Schroeder
 

December 2009 - I want to start by sending Seasons Greetings and hope you all had the opportunity to spend some special time with family and friends during this holiday season.  May the new year bring all your desires for life and happiness.

All indications are that 2010 should be a good year for the sheep industry.  Demand for lambs is good, prices are above average.  The sheep industry is the new buzz word in the livestock sector.  Our advertising campaign has generated a lot of interest in the industry.  A copy of our ad can be seen on the back cover of this issue of Sheep Shape.  The sheep industry is a current bright spot in livestock.  We will work hard to insure a positive future.

Our annual meeting was held the first weekend of December.  The meeting was well attended with a real positive atmosphere in the room.  I was encouraged by the number of attendees from the Ministry of Agriculture wanting to know more about our industry.  I believe it's essential to have a positive working relationship with the Ministry and I believe we do.  Deputy Minister Ms. Alanna Koch in her presentation commented that the sheep industry was a bright spot in the livestock sector and that the Ministry and the SSDB needed to partner together to create the environment for lamb production.  Our Board believes strongly that the key to growing the industry is creating the environment.  If the environment is favorable the production will come.

In the last mailing from the SSDB we sent a producer registration form to be completed and returned to the office.  Please take a few moments and complete this form and return it to the office.  Registering with the board is not an option by provincial regulation.  The information is kept confidential.  If the registrations are not returned to our office we have two options:  your name is removed from the mailing list and services provided by the Board can be denied.  Option two:  we need to call all remaining producers to collect the information.  I believe the cost associated with calling producers to get them registered is not a good use of producer funds.  So please return the form as soon as possible.

I said in one of my presentations at the AGM that "What once was is no longer".  What I meant by this is that the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board operated in a completely different environment than we did only a few years ago.  We need to work in a business environment with more regulation, constant change and very strategically.  Demands are growing and margins and resources are tight.  The SSDB is no longer just a producer organization; it's a business that needs to operate as a business.  This is good and bad, good in that we need to be very efficient and well structured to survive.  Bad in that we struggle to find time to be as involved one on one with producers.  Our resources are stretched to the limit in trying to keep up with expectations put on the SSDB.

Please be aware of several assistance opportunities and take advantage of them.  If the programs are not used we will lose them.  Here is a list of programs that I am aware of that you may want to consider:

* Environmental Farm Plan financial assistance for items such as: fencing to protect the environment, fencing for grazing management, control of invasive species, wild life damage and new to the program, fencing for predator control.  Facility upgrades for extending the grazing season and winter feeding.  Agricultural waste and safe storage.  Contact PCAB  at 1-866-298-7222 for more information on these opportunities.

* Saskatchewan On Farm Food Safety Program provides assistance in purchasing equipment needed for the implementation of On Farm Food Safety.  Contact the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board for more information.

* Saskatchewan Voluntary Traceback Program for financial assistance for the purchase of RFID equipment and facility modifications.  Call the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board 933-5582 or the Ministry of Agriculture at 1-877-874-5365 for more information.

* Farm Business Development Initiative for assistance in the development of business plans and to enhance business skills.

* Guard Dog Rebate Program which provides a rebate on the purchase of a guard dog.  Call the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board for an application.

Predation continues to be a huge topic for discussion and disagreement.  We have been asked many times what the SSDB's position is on the new Saskatchewan Coyote Control Program announced by the Minister.  We support the fencing and the increased access to 1080 components of the program as these are both items we asked for.  The 1080 is going to be used in a very controlled and restricted environment and we support this.  The provincial bounty is something we did not ask for and are interested in seeing what effect it has.  The SSDB supports the selective harvest of coyotes, not all coyotes are killing livestock and there is a balance required in the environment.  Studies show that bounties generally remove the average coyotes; often the problem coyote will survive.  Coyote bounties are one of many tools required to manage predation.  Our concern as a Board is that the bounty program not replace the existing Saskatchewan Predation Program.  Producers have made it very clear to us that they do not want to lose the current program.  Producers having predation issues need a place to call for assistance.

We need your help in dealing with the predation issue on a national level.  Please take the time to fill in the survey within the Points of View document in the January issue of Sheep Shape and return it to the Canadian Sheep Federation; your information is needed.

We also need your help with a cost of production study that we are partnering in with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.  There is a three page form we need you to complete and return to Brad Marceniuk at the Ministry.  The information is kept confidential, you do not need to put your name on it if you desire.  Please call the SSDB at 933-5582 or Brad at 933-5098 for more information and a copy of the form.  This study is very important to our industry so please help us out.  Thank you in advance.

Thought; In life when you fall down three times you need to get up four times.