2012 ends with quality ewes

About 650 sheep and goats were delivered to Winnipeg Livestock Auction Dec. 19 for the final sale of 2012. Once again, the bidding was influenced by other provinces and their markets. There appeared to be two price ranges of hair sheep, with the wool ewes representing the centre of this bidding range. The lower hair

Is it really necessary to blanket your horse?

Agrowing horse-keeping trend is to blanket horses throughout the winter. Most often the decision to blanket a horse is the result of an emotional response by a well-intentioned owner. It has also become acceptable to blanket due to certain lifestyles chosen for horses. However, it is important to recognize that in general the practice of



Prices plummet in spite of quality

There were 750 sheep and goats delivered to the Winnipeg Livestock Auction Nov. 7 sale. Bidding was lacklustre compared to earlier sales and prices were lower, despite good-quality sheep and goats on offer. There was equal representation from wool and hair sheep ewes with the average price ranging from $.39 to $.58 per pound. A


Community pasture takeover plan revealed

Proposal calls for a new, non-profit corporation with seven elected 
members to take over former federally managed community pastures

The federal government is pulling out, but a new boss is taking up the reins. A steering committee for the Association of Manitoba Community Pastures, a new not-for-profit group, has developed a business plan for taking over the operation of a million acres of formerly federally managed grazing rangelands in the province. That’s good news,

Hoof Beats of HOPE to auction off horse

The Fellowship of Christian Cowboys (Manitoba chapter), is looking to make a difference today and tomorrow for the children, their families and staff at the Children’s Hospital in Winnipeg through a special fundraising initiative called Hoof Beats of HOPE. The idea was put forth by Manitoba chapter president, Terry Baker of Newdale, however, it has


Dogs or donkeys?

Two farms side by side in the coyote-infested Interlake credit 
guardian animals for eliminating losses due to predation

Sheep producers Lorna Wall and Rozanne Nevakshonoff are Interlake neighbours who disagree over whether guardian dogs or donkeys do the best job of protecting their herds. But they do agree on one thing: guardian animals are their best defence against the coyotes, wolves, bears and cougars roaming their sparsely populated farms near Poplarfield. Both say

Sheep shearers in short supply

The Manitoba Sheep Association is calling on the province to help address a looming shortage of top-notch sheep shearers. “A professional sheep shearer can do 200 head a day,” said Lucien Lesage, president of the provincial association. “I don’t want to insult the ones here, but a lot of them do only 50 to 60


Goat producers urged to provide input into a new national traceability program

Some dairy goat producers want leg bands instead of ear tags and there are 
different methods for reporting and recording of animal movement, and retiring tags

Atraceability program for goats is coming, and now is the time for producers to give their input on how the system should operate, says the general manager of the Canadian National Goat Federation. “Traceability and animal identification are almost non-negotiable right now,” Jennifer MacTavish said at the recent Alberta Goat Breeders Association conference. “Our role

Goat producers sought for national scrapie study

Goat producers are being urged to participate in a scrapie prevalence study, part of an effort to rid the country of the disease. “What we’re trying to do is establish a strategic plan to get producers involved with scrapie eradication in a way that works for producers,” Corlena Patterson, project co-ordinator of Scrapie Canada, said