The Rural Voice, 2003-08, Page 33pounds but they sell Iambs all the
way down to 60-80 pounds. "Every
Iamb has its own weight it should be
shipped at. This morning we shipped
Iambs to Kitchener that were 94-95
pounds and they were finished at 94-
95 pounds.
"We pride ourselves on a Iamb
that's consistent quality. If we ship a
Toad of Iambs we try to be within a
few pounds of each other all the
time."
The closure of the border has left
him stuck with some big Iambs that
are starting to turn into yearlings and
nobody wants them at that age.
Though the border closure has
been painful, Lewis is trying to
find the silver lining to the
dark cloud. He's been through it
before. On September 1, 2001 they
had just opened the new barn and
taken delivery of three pot -loads of
lambs. The old barn was still packed
with animals nearing market weight.
And then the terrorist attacks in New
York and Washington sent the
market crashing.
"We worked away trying to do
something. We couldn't ship and
couldn't ship and the lambs kept
getting bigger on us. We got on the
phone and called the States. So out of
that problem we got into a very good
market. So I'm hoping that out of this
problem I'll have to build a piece on
the end of the barn to meet this new
market I'm developing."
With the border's closure he went
to his Ontario packer and told him
they had to sell more Iamb in Ontario
in order to keep the current
production level so now they ship
more lambs to Ontario.
"We have to continue to grow
every year or we become stagnant.
We try to develop a few new
markets."
Key to the success of the
operation are those who surround
him, Lewis says, starting with his
staff of two full time and one part-
time workers who look after the
livestock.
Staff start work at 5 a.m. and work
12 days straight with two days off.
"It's not the life for everybody," he
says. "This is a seven day a week
job."
There's a perception of the sheep
industry that people keep a few sheep
and it's almost a hobby. "This is one
1
We Care ...
The littlest things are our biggest concern!
Purina believes that
the future success of
your sheep enterprise
depends on efficient
Iamb growth resulting
in greater life time profitability.
Feed your lambs and ewes
the Purina program ... they
never get over a good start!
To find out more... give us a call today!
AI•Mar
Feed Centre
Exeter
1-888-644-2844/235-1919
Bluewater Feed
Company Ltd.
Tara Desboro
934-3122 794-2327
Milton J. Dietz
Ltd.
Seaforth
522-0608
Howson &
Howson Ltd.
Blyth
1-800-663-3653/523-9624
Listowel
Farm Supply
Listowel
291-2501
Milverton Farm
Supplies Inc.
Milverton
595-2048
McPhail's Feed
Services
St. Marys
1-800-774-9758/284-4000
Springbank Farm
Supply
R.R. 3, Walkerton
881-4492
PURINA
AUGUST 2003 29