The Rural Voice, 1999-08, Page 34don't feel there's a need for a single
body agency to represent their needs
and wants but if they weren't there to
address some of the larger picture
issues, the sheep industry wouldn't
be where it is today.
Deciding to go over 400 ewes
would mean another major shift in
their operation. Vince says. To
handle more than 400 the farm would
have to be mechanized which would
require new barns. To pay for the
extra capital costs they'd have to go
800 or 1,000 and an entirely different
management style would be needed.
Jjindering
that kind of growth
would be trying to find the
additional ewes, the Stutzkis
say. With recent expansion in sheep
its hard to find quality Rideau ewes
at a reasonable price.
The premium for good stock
would also make it intimidating for
someone to start out trying to build a
new flock, Vince says. He admits
they were lucky to get into the
business when they did. "We got in
small, we made all our mistakes at
the beginning and then as we decided
to grow we could still buy breeding
stock at a reasonable price, then we
were suddenly there with product to
sell when the price was high. That
doesn't happen very often."
Like all farm commodities, sheep
will go through a down cycle, he says
but because Canada is still only
producing 50 per cent of its domestic
consumption, Canadian Iamb doesn't
have to fight for export markets.
"Our market has a lot of growth
potential, but at what price? I think it
will be a hard thing for producers to
accept that to fill our market we
might have to take a lower price."
That in turn means larger operations
are necessary.
Despite the fact they're
surrounded by beef operations, the
Stutzkis have 12-15 other large sheep
producers within a 15 -minute drive.
"In the last five years in this area
you've seen a lot of flocks go from
50-100 ewes to 200-500 ewes.
People have been building barns,
handling facilities and fencing.
"There's a lot more potential in
the sheep industry right now than
there is for pork or beef," Vince
says.°
30 THE RURAL VOICE
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