Katahdin Sheep will put Lamb back on the Menu
Franklyn Farm, situated Southwest of Mayerthorpe, Alberta, is a mixed farm with cows and Katahdin sheep. We share the farm work but sheep are my responsibility and Frank the cattle. Using big round bales during winter, the use of the tractor certainly is an asset for feeding. In the last few years it seems that drought, grasshoppers and then the final straw - BSE have made farming a real trial. The border still remains closed for entry to the US of sheep breeding stock even though we have opened it up to them.
Our surrounding area supports mostly gas, oil and lumber industries with Whitecourt, the largest major town growing rapidly in the last ten years. This is Boreal forest area and many farmers supplement, as we have done, our farm income with lumber, oil, gas and pipeline revenues.
Our land is classed gray wooded, being mixed heavy to light clay type with lots of rocks. Our hay fields are rotated with oats, barley and canola. Frank has been successful in swath grazing early in the winter. Silage was made but the huge increases in fuel and fertilizer has us rethinking our methods of farming.
We try to be environmentally friendly on our land. Like the rest of the world we are facing unpredictable weather patterns and it is hard to plan ahead. We took barley off in November last year but were glad to get a good crop of green feed cut for swath grazing. This is a good year for it as with little snow to hamper the cows access to the feed, they are doing well on cleaning it up. Someone else is getting our snow for now.
We survive with our cow calf operation and grain sales. The lamb prices were great this past year and long may it continue but won't hold my breath. The rising costs of inputs takes care of any elevated prices for out commodities that we see. Spring is a busy time of year for both of us. Fortunately, like a lot of farmers, Frank has the ability to maintain the extensive collection of rusty iron that he calls machinery. Many items for sheep and cows have also been put together using a lifetime of collected "junk" and his expertise in welding. Frank's favourite magazine "Farm Show".
We enjoy the lifestyle and try and give the livestock the care and attention they deserve. It can be extremely cold some winters but both cow and sheep with wind breaks and good hay in front of them can do quite well. At least it is a dry cold - usually - and we don't often get the depths of snow seen further East. Rain and wind can kill faster as I well know from my New Zealand farming experiences.
It took me a long time to get used to the winter when I arrived from New Zealand in 1982. Now I look forward to catching up on my spinning, weaving, writing, sewing and reading during the shorter work days. Frank was born here, just. His parents had a German background and came over with his father's brothers in early 50's. Their farm near Gdanski in Poland no longer belonged to them. Frank has utilized his German language for several visitors that have come to see the Katahdin sheep. Unfortunately, Frank was not taught to read German if you are writing to us.
Please take some time to browse through these pages and learn more about the Katahdin Sheep. It is my goal to see livestock cared for in a manner that is comfortable to them and it is usually best served through education and understanding of the animals needs. To this end I am happy to share my experiences on raising and caring for Katahdins. I always advise prospective producers to get information from others in the areas they live in. I cannot tell you how to feed sheep in Ontario or the US. Mostly you need to determine what kind of market will suit you and your area. Alberta Lamb Producers has an excellent CD or downloadable PDF on their site for care and management of sheep.
Lynette 2012
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Mail to: Lynette Kreddig
Box 486, Mayerthorpe,
Alberta, T0E 1N0 Canada
Phone/Fax: 780-786-4754
Email: Lynette Kreddig