MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — On the face of it, Canadian sheep producers appear to have a lot going for them. Only about 20 percent of the lamb meat demand is being filled domestically and wool is increasingly seen as an environmentally sustainable option for fabrics and clothing.
But the and its attempts to build a vertically integrated meat processing system plus the inability of the country’s largest marketer, the Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers (CCWG), to produce a financial report at its last annual general meeting show issues within the sector.
Erin Morgan, Ontario Sheep Farmers executive director, lamented the fact CCWG didn’t hold a virtual AGM at its October meeting in Carleton Place, Ont.
“I know there are a number of producers across Canada that were interested in attending that meeting and learning about the Wool Growers and what they were up to,” she said.
“From all accounts, it sounds like they didn’t share their financials and I haven’t seen their financials yet so I can’t comment on what’s happening at the Wool Growers.”
There have been rumblings on the wool side in the sector regarding the situation and possible internal conflicts.
Morgan Moore, CCWG interim general manager, did not return a request for comment.
But Ontario Sheep Farmers is bullish on the industry because of its potential.
“There is lots of opportunity in the sheep industry,” said Morgan, whose organization is the largest provincial producer group in the country.
Canada imports a lot of lamb to serve a large market in the greater Toronto area, and most Ontario producers also sell into that market.
While on paper the potential for the industry seems clear, in reality, there is plenty of nuance, including the ability for Australian and New Zealand producers to ship year-round into the Canadian market, while domestically, that’s primarily in the spring.
“Just like with every commodity in Canada, everybody is working with a tight margin and the more that you can do to manage your costs,” said Morgan. “Marketing timing is a really big part of sheep production and that’s one of those things you have to learn early. If you are going to market at that low (spring) point in the year, you really need to be a low-cost producer.”
Morgan said her organization tries to help producers trim their costs, improve genetics and be competitive internationally.
Ontario wool producer Jacob Murray, who runs the production side of Topsy Farms, said his business left the meat side of the sheep business because it couldn’t compete.
“For Topsy Farms, wool is the future of us being able to keep this farmland being a farm. No question, no matter what. We have tried farming at scale for meat and it still wasn’t enough.”
When the farm was raising sheep for meat, it was running upward of 1,300 breeding ewes, “and that still wasn’t enough,” Murray said.
He said when a consumer can buy a whole frozen lamb for sale at Costco for less than the cost of him shipping it to the abattoir, it’s nearly impossible to be competitive.
That is, if producers can find an abattoir to process lamb.
Ready access to veterinarian medications for lamb can also be difficult.
“There is not enough demand in the industry to get those drugs, said Murray. “Other countries that we have trade agreements with, like England, New Zealand, they have access to wormers and other medicines that we are not allowed to get because there is not enough demand in the industry to get the drug companies to do the trials and they have to be approved by Health Canada. There’s not enough market for them to go through that effort.”
When it comes to the wool side, Topsy Farms sees that as the future of the operation, providing high-quality, durable fabrics to an underserved, underutilized market, said Murray.
“Canadian wool is amazing. All of it is amazing but especially from sheep that are raised outdoors all year round,” he said. “They have to grow thick fleece because they are out in the elements. It’s paramount for them to have a nice, thick, lush fleece.”
It comes down to the fact that, if a Canadian sheep’s coat can keep it warm in sub-zero temperatures, it can keep a person warm. Those environmental issues are not something sheep from other parts of the world need to contend with and it sets Canadian wool apart, said Murray.
“You can actually measure particular storms in the fibre. but the market is underserved and the product itself is undervalued,” he said.
That’s an issue Matthew Rowe, chief executive officer for the Campaign for Wool Canada, hopes to change.
Rowe said the issue of microplastics created for fast fashion clothing is threatening to choke the ocean every time synthetic materials are run through a washing machine.
“We did a study a few years back where it was estimated a third of all the microplastics in the ocean is coming from laundry,” he said. “Even wearing cotton and wool and cashmere and other natural fibres exclusively, that eliminates that problem.”
But the prolonged downturn in the Canadian wool industry has left it needing a jumpstart to get domestic production up to where it’s accessible to average clothing consumers.
Rowe called it a death cycle — lacklustre returns on investment leading to a lack of marketing and little interest in developing new products.
“I think it’s that sort of thinking which has captured certain organizations and that there is nothing that can be done about it,” he said.
Rowe is looking to reverse that trend, saying one of the first things his organization did in creating its plan to reinvigorate the industry was to re-engage with the global wool community.
“Canada was the only producer of wool of any note in the world that wasn’t part of the global governing body, the International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO),” he said. “It hadn’t been in the entire 93-year history of this organization.”
Even sub-national states, such as the Falkland Islands, are part of the IWTO, said Rowe.
For Murray, it’s about creating a value proposition with consumers and ensuring they know a wool product can last decades or longer and be passed down through generations.
“And when people buy a blanket or yarn from us, they understand that they are part of this system now that is keeping the land green and wild and that I think is unique in the 21st century,” he said.
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