By Craig Westcott/January 27, 2023
You may not think it, but the Avalon Peninsula is the sheep capital of Newfoundland, at least judging by the farmers elected to the board of the Sheep Producers Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SPANL) at their recent AGM on the west coast.
Six of the eight executive members hail from the Goulds or the Southern Shore including President Brenda Aylward of Port Kirwan, Vice President Howard Morry of Kilbride, Treasurer Keith Morry of the Goulds, Communications Director Matt Morry of Kilbride, Avalon Director David Hayes of the Goulds, and Director-at-Large Julia Hurley of the Goulds. The other directors are Secretary Amanda Cull of Bonavista, and Central Director Frederick Grothe.
Communications director Matt Morry said the group's annual general meeting was very successful and included a tour of the state-of-the-art Exploits Meadow Farms, break-out discussion sessions and presentations by officials from the Federation of Agriculture and the provincial Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.
It was the first such meeting in several years because of the damper put on things by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It was great to meet with like-minded individuals and talk sheep for a weekend," said Morry. “You can only talk to your significant other or friends so much about sheep before they tell you to knock it off. But for us fellow farmers, it's more interesting."
Morry said the group has 26 members, but he reckoned there are probably 60 to 70 sheep farms on the island, some with as few as a couple of sheep, others with as many as 200.
"It hit a low a little while ago, but it seems like a few young people have taken an interest in sheep (more recently) and the market is getting stronger all the time," he said. "With (more) immigration there's a lot more demand for local lamb, and the market is extremely strong, at least in the last number of years."
The growing emphasis on food security for the province and the provincial government's efforts to encourage local farming has also benefitted the industry, Morry said. As a result, the industry is slowly growing.
Like all animal farming, sheep farmers have to worry about the health of their animals, quality of feed, and protection from predators, especially coyotes when it comes to lambs.
“Sheep can be really finicky animals, they're born with a strong will to die, kind of thing,” said Morry. “But they can also be easy to handle. You don't need a lot of infrastructure for sheep, whereas for cattle you would need trailers and larger equipment. With a sheep, you can pick it up yourself. But you do need some acreage, though probably less than you would for other types of farming. You can have a few sheep on a very small pasture. It's a good introduction to farming, really, sheep are, because they're usually pretty docile and easy to handle and you don't need a lot of equipment and a lot of capital to get going... But it is a commitment. You're looking after living creatures, so they do need your attention everyday. And that's probably one of the things that keeps people from getting into farming. It's tough to take a vacation, it’s tough to take a day off. If you're sick, the animals still have to get fed. It's one of those things that you have to be passionate about it to get involved with it."
The influx of immigrants who come from countries with substantial lamb-based diets has been a welcome boost to the local market for sheep farmers.
"It's great for business," Morry admitted. "I have some customers that eat exclusively my lamb. And it's great. I wish I had more product some days. So, demand seems like it's on the rise. And especially over the last decade, people are thinking more about ethically sourced sustainable agriculture. People want to know where their food comes from and how it was raised. It's not necessarily 'What's the cheapest option?' anymore."
On the mainland, lamb has been setting record prices year after year, Morry noted.
The growth in demand for lamb is especially welcome given the lower prices and decreasing market for wool.
Lamb is a touch more expensive than beef or pork, Morry allowed. That's because of the lower units sold by sheep farmers compared to been or pork farmers.
"If I raise a lamb all year, I'd be lucky to get between $250 and $300," Morry said. "That's a lot of work for year to turn into $200 or $300. So, while the market in strong, the prices are fair. It seems on the Avalon the going price is about $8 per pound, whereas beef would probably be closer to $5 or $6 for local. It's a little bit more expensive per pound, but it's a lesser amount. A lamb would be anywhere between 30 and 40 pounds on average. It's more of a treat for a lot of people than it is a steady supply of meat for the winter kind of thing."
As for the preponderance of SPANL's board hailing from this end of the island, Morry pointed out the Goulds, Kilbride, the Southern Shore and St. Mary's Bay have a long history of sheep farming.
“But that's not to say there aren't any farms in Central or out on the west coast," he added. "There’s a few people who are actually full time sheep farming now out in Central and out on the west coast with flocks of 100 to 200 ewes. It's great to see that it's not just the Avalon, that there are farmers across the island and arguably on better terrain than we've got. They're not farming rocks like we are on this end of her."
Lamb sales are seasonal, usually from August to early winter on the island. The spring and summer is when the lambs are born and fattened for the fall.
"But some people do different programs," said Morry. "You could put your sheep on an accelerated breeding program where you have three crops of lambs every two years so that you get an extra breeding cycle. But it's pretty labour intensive and you need a lot of food and a lot of good shelter."
Morry farms the traditional way, with a yearly harvest in the fall. He keeps a flock of about 50 breeding ewes. They produce anywhere from 90 to 110 lambs in late winter. The lambs spend a couple of days in the barn, and then are out feeding on the clean grass. A productive ewe, that is to say a sheep that has babies every year, can last eight to 10 years. "We have some there that we've retired," Morry said. "They've served us well over the years and they get to live out their days. It's no sweat to have a sheep for a decade."
Morry, at age 28, is one of the province's younger sheep farmers. But he grew up in the business. The Morry name is synonymous with sheep farming in Kilbride and the Goulds. He is encouraged to see other young people getting into the industry. Most sheep farmers work at other jobs too, so it is a big commitment.
"I can see it being daunting," he said. "But it seems that homesteading is really taking off here in Newfoundland in the last number of years. A couple of sheep on your homestead is pretty easy to manage versus a beef animal... And it seems like demand is growing all the time, so I would highly encourage anyone who has an interest in sheep to try it. You don't have to go out and get a hundred, but you could maybe join the membership and see what it's all about. And it's a great little community where you can ask questions and not be judged. We're all in the same business of raising animals. A lot of times you might feel awkward about asking certain questions of the general public, whereras a lot of people in our membership have probably seen it before, or at least know someone who has seen it before. It's a great little community we have there of likeminded individuals."
