The Rural Voice, 1999-08, Page 32BOYD FARM
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R.R. 6, Owen Sound 519-376-5880
RIDEAU RAMS
Strong Maternal Traits
Greenock Farm
R. & K. Velocci
R R #2 Paisley. ON NOG 2N0
1-519-353-5530
1-519-353-4018 phone/fax
+GBDD6S•
Purebred
Polled Dorsets
RAMS FOR SALE
EWE LAMBS
FOR SALE
Donald B. Bill & Judy
AC 519
395-5951 395-2218
R.R. #4,
Kincardine, Ont. N2Z 2X5
28 THE RURAL VOICE
breed the rest Texel for the market.
"You always have to sell
something to pay the bills and the
easiest way to do that is not to keep
anything back," Vince says. "The
decision becomes easy: whether it's a
female or a male it still goes out the
door."
They have a strict selection
criteria for replacement stock. They
keep extensive records and ewe
lambs must gain three-quarters of a
pound a day over their first 50 days
to get consideration for the breeding
program.
Another key in the growth of the
farm has been the decision to market
finished lambs of 100-105 pounds
instead of 75-80 pounds. It's an
entirely different market than the
Christmas or Easter Iamb market,
Vince explains.
Trying to aim production for
specific weeks, to second-guess the
market, was stressful, Heather says.
"Our philosophy has come around
to the point that if you ship Iambs
every week it really doesn't matter
what the price is, because you're
dealing with the laws bf average
rather than trying to hit a market,"
Vince explains.
"That can only be achieved with a
fairly large flock like ours. When we
had 50 or 100 ewes we had to gear up
for certain markets because we only
had so much to sell and we tried to
maximize what we had."
When their flock grew it
necessitated an entirely
different philosophy, Vince
says. "You couldn't afford to go
through price discovery every week
and still pay bills."
That change of philosophy came
when they began farming full time a
year and a half ago and needed a
regular cash flow. To ensure that,
they have taken advantage of the
forward contract offered by the
Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency
(OSMA) to market about 95 per cent
of their lamb crop. That has been
another of the milestones in their
progress.
That, in turn, changed their
management,in order to meet the
specifications needed by the packer,
who takes about 100 lambs a week
from 25 producers. Producers are paid
on a grid and yield basis. The price is
based on a 12 -month rolling average.
The finished market is one not
everybody wants to be
involved in, the Stutzkis say.
There's more work involved with
another 60-90 days of feeding, and of
course the extra feed costs.
"There has always been a heavy
market but it has traditionally been a
heavy fatty lamb," Vince .says. The
premium lambs purchased under the
Ontario contract don't allow for the
kind of heavy trim the larger lambs
traditionally had. It requires Iambs
that still produce a larger loin eye but
with very little fat.
"That market I'm confident will
keep growing," Vince says.
Another key decision along the
way was deciding to concentrate on
nutrition. "I really took it upon
myself to learn everything I could
about how to feed these animals,"
Vince says. "I think that really
opened up our eyes."
They make their own feed for
their lambs, Heather explains, which
allows them adjust the ration to meet
the needs of the contract.
The contract pays on the rail
weight, and the first load of lambs
they sent were docked heavily for
being too fat. The feeding program
they were using to grow Iambs to 75-
80 pounds put on too much fat
instead of muscle if the lambs were
grown to 100-105 pounds. They had
to go back to the drawing board and
design a new feeding program that
fed only whole grain instead of grain
and hay. The new program brought
immediate results with the first batch
of lambs that was raised this way and
they knew they were on the right
track, though they're constantly
tinkering to shave costs.
The final key in changing their
management has been the use of
ultra -sound to pregnancy check ewes.
"It's changed the way we operate,"
Heather says.
The Stutzkis credit meetings
sponsored by OSMA with helping
them meet and learn from other
producers. They've become big
supporters of the agency. Heather is
secretary of the local OSMA district
and Vince sits on a couple of OSMA
committees at the provincial level.
As part of a small industry, sheep
producers can't afford to fight
amongst themselves: Vince says.
"There are a lot of producers who