The Rural Voice, 1997-08, Page 37own religious holidays.
While other meats have grading
systems which develop an ideal
carcass, the diversity of the
consumers in Ontario make that
virtually impossible. One group
wants a Iamb of a certain size while
another wants something heavier.
Sometimes what would seem like a
problem Iamb can be highly sought.
There are times when thin Iambs, for
instance, can substitute for goats
when they're scarce at a religious
holidays. While male lambs are
usually castrated, at Muslim holidays
there's a demand for ram Iambs.
The consumer demand is filled by
small ethnic packers who specialize
in producing for the different ethnic
groups. Each has its own ideal
"It's not like pumping out
Grade A hogs by the
million."
animal. "It's not like pumping Grade
A hogs by the millions into a couple
of big packers," he says. Marketing
then becomes a matter of finding the
right buyers with the right animals. A
producer wanting the best return on
the animals he has to sell, needs to
know what packers buy at which
stockyard and what type of animal
they prefer. Even then it's not fool-
proof. If a particular buyer decides
he's not buying that day, the bottom
can fall out of the market for a
particular type or weight of lamb.
Veterans of the sheep business
are used to market price
fluctuations that would make
other livestock producers' hearts
flutter. While a 20 cern a pound rise
or fall in beef is a big change in a
day, Iamb prices can change that
much in an hour, Logan says. Each
weight range can fluctuate
independent of the others.
Smoothing out the ups and downs
are the direct -to -consumer sales that
have traditionally been a big part of
the lamb business. Because of their
small size, Iambs are one of the few
things that consumers can handle
individually. "It's hard to sell a 600 -
pound beef carcass but a 40 -pound
lamb carcass is a manageable unit,"
he says. As a result, many Iamb
producers get to meet their customers
face to face when they come to the
40
Purebred
Polled Dorsets
(Louise Martie Flock
RAMS FOR SALE
EWE LAMBS
FOR SALE
Donald B. Bill & Judy
AC 519
395-5951 395-2218
R.R. #4,
Kincardine, Ont. N2Z 2X5
AUGUST IS THE TIME
TO PURCHASE
BREEDING EWES TO
RUN WITH YOUR RAM
QUALITY COMMERCIAL
BREEDING EWES, RAMS
AND GOATS
SMALL LOTS TO TRAILER LOADS
Will arrange shipping
anywhere in
Eastern Canada
Allan Ribbink
R.R. #1, Tiverton,
Ontario NOG 2T0
(519) 368-7691
• LOGAN
SHEEP
FARMS
./ Commercial Dorset
/Crossbred Ewes
"Natural" Ontario Yarns & Wool Products
from the Philosophers Wool Company
Robert & Luella Logan 343-2041
Palmerston
Host Farm - Western Ontario
Sheep Dog Trials
JUDY MILLER
RR 3, Hanover, ON N4N 3B9
519-364-6193
District Two
Ontario Sheep
Marketing Agency
Serving the interest of sheep
producers in Grey & Bruce Counties
ANNUAL, MEETING
Potluck Supper
Friday, Sept. 12
Dornoch Hall
7:00 p.m.
Grant Preston 519-923-6341
Steve Hallam 519-395-4660
In the sheep
business
since 1970
BRANDENBERGER
BROS. FARMS
Producers of Quality Lamb
Wool and Commercial Breeding Stock
R.R. 1,
Tiverton, Ontario
NOG 2T0 519-368-7520
August 1997 33