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The Rural Voice, 2004-10, Page 45News in Agriculture Ontario sheep numbers down slightly While the western Canadian sheep flock has dropped by six per cent from this time last year, Ontario has fallen by half that much, according to the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency. July 1 inventories indicate that Ontario's breeding ewe flock has dropped by three over this time last year, now clocking in at just over 179,000 head. Cathy Lennon, General Manager of the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency (OSMA) says that the drop in breeding ewe inventories is relatively insignificant for Ontario, however the replacement crop numbers are of some interest. Producers have indicated that they have been taking opportunities this year to cull the ewe flock harder than usual because of the tremendous pressure in the market place and keeping back more replacement lambs, but the statistics report does not indicate that is truly what's happening. Replacement Iambs according to the July 1st report are down in Ontario by close to 13% from this time last year. With stalled exports to the US, and more Iambs flowing into Ontario from neighbouring provinces, the total provincial slaughter in Ontario has increased by 11 per cent over this time last year and by more than 70 per cent from 2000. Over 25,000 head were processed in Ontario in the month of July, with less than two per cent, (600 head) of that being done in federally inspected plants. OSMA is a producer -run organization representing 4,200 sheep producers in the province of Ontario. In addition to the marketing and promotion of lamb and wool, OSMA is responsible for research coordination, advocacy and education.0 Province tightens meat inspection rules The provincial government is strengthening Ontario's food safety system through changes to regulations under the Health Promotion and Protection Act to prevent uninspected meat from being mixed inadvertently with inspected meat and entering the retail marketplace. The changes, which took effect September 1, will prohibit carcasses of uninspected domestic animals slaughtered on-farm from entering any food premises, including butcher shops. Previously, livestock producers' meat, from animals killed on-farm for their own use, could be custom - cut, wrapped, and frozen at a food premise, providing it was identified and stored separately from inspected products. As of Septefnber 1 this year, livestock producers will continue to have the following options available to them: • Bring their live animal to one of 195 provincially licensed abattoirs for custom slaughter, dressing, cutting, and wrapping. In that case, both the animal and the carcass receive inspection, and the meat can be legally sold. • An OMAF-appointed veterinarian can conduct an ante mortem inspection at the owner's expense prior to on-farm slaughter. Then, the carcass can be brought to a provincially licensed plant for post- mortem inspection, dressing. cutting, and wrapping. In this case, the meat cannot be sold and must be consumed by the producer's immediate family only. • The meat can be dressed, cut. and wrapped on-farm following on-farm slaughter. In this case. the meat cannot be sold and must be consumed by the producer's immediate family only. These options are in line with the requirements under the Meat Inspection Act (Ontario) and regulations to ensure that any animal or carcass entering a plant has been inspected.0 Feds need to fund plants, Pascal says Continued from page 40 refused to pay. Woods said there has never been a NAFTA Chapter 11 case where the country that lost refused to pay. "NAFTA itself is on trial," he said. "The whole of NAFTA would be torn to shreds." While Pascal puts great hopes in the Chapter 11 suit, he said farmers must also take other actions. The Canadian cow -calf industry must come on side to allow cattle from all states to be imported, not just the 39 states that are currently declared free of the diseases blue tongue and antiplasmosis and allowed to ship stocker cattle to Canada. "That's where you people have to go to work," he told the cattlemen, in the job of pressuring our government to open the borders. Until that there's going to be tremendous pressure in some northern states against opening the border. Farmers must also pressure the government for better support programs. He labeled the CAIS program as "Chartered Accountants Income Support" instead of Canadian Agriculture Income Support. And, he said, the Canadian government needs to get directly involved in building slaughter plants because under the current uncertainties, no entrepreneur is going to want to put money up. Even if the plants have to be moth -balled in two years it would be cheap insurance, he said. More information can be found by checking out the group's website at www.ccft.info or by calling 403-331- 3175 or 403-634-6354.0 OCTOBER 2004 41