Red Barn Family Farm Lamb

[Sheepwheat]

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone. It means a lot, I was not expecting it. Thanks again.

[AllisWD45]

Terry, in Canora made awesome shishliki. We really miss not being able to get them anymore. I look forward to trying yours on-line.

Ya gone on to bigger and better things the last few years. Less skill needed at what he does now lol

[AC man]

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone. It means a lot, I was not expecting it. Thanks again.

Congratulations on your success! You and your family should be proud of yourselves. Not everyone is jealous of someone trying to better themselves and that is why you received comments of encouragement.

[woodland]

Congrats and good luck. We dabbled in the same with beef after BSE and gave up after a bit. Came to the realization it was easier to deal with more cows than the public. Although not as profitable it was less stressful.

Good on you for making it work.

[sumdumguy]

My mother said they use older ewe, not lamb. I wish I lived closer, we could experiment until we nailed it. If you come to Regina, bring ewe meat and lamb. While my mother is still alive, we can get the recipe just right. I think I hava 3-phase locker plant for sale - cheap.

[jamesb]

That's great. As a lamb eater has been almost impossible to buy Canadian lamb in most stores. The reality of most prairie sheep producers having to ship lambs east for processing where we already have demand here is sad. It would be sure nice to develop prairie processing that could fill the demand instead of the small processors that are not high volume. If you find a seller in Regina , let us know.

[Sheepwheat]

That's great. As a lamb eater has been almost impossible to buy Canadian lamb in most stores. The reality of most prairie sheep producers having to ship lambs east for processing where we already have demand here is sad. It would be sure nice to develop prairie processing that could fill the demand instead of the small processors that are not high volume. If you find a seller in Regina , let us know.

Because Canada imports 60% of the lamb we consume, this isn’t going to change fast. And as long as guys frown on sheep and stick with cows, this problem will continue.

One of the stated goals of our farm, is to become known as Saskatchewan’s premier supplier of lamb.

We deliver often to Regina. We have a lot of private whole and half lamb buyers down there, as well as select cut consumers. Just no retailers or restaurants as of yet.

[Sheepwheat]

Congrats and good luck. We dabbled in the same with beef after BSE and gave up after a bit. Came to the realization it was easier to deal with more cows than the public. Although not as profitable it was less stressful.

Good on you for making it work.

It is so hard with beef, because beef is everywhere, accessible, and cheap. Lamb is a niche just by being lamb, which makes it a whole lot easier to tap into a market where people simply struggle to find any!

[oldjim]

Good to hear you're making progress with the marketing. Have you talked to Federated Co-op yet? They seem to be at the forefront in promotion of locally-grown food, both in their stores and in their advertising.

[Sheepwheat]

Good to hear you're making progress with the marketing. Have you talked to Federated Co-op yet? They seem to be at the forefront in promotion of locally-grown food, both in their stores and in their advertising.

I am pretty sure I couldn’t supply them consistently yet, so no we haven’t approached them. One thing about the bigger stores is they are also too cost conscious. They also need steady supply, so they go with cheap imported NZ or Aussie lamb. We have our price point. We refuse to go below it. There are plenty of people willing to go above it. THOSE are our targets, along with those who want local and fresh.

We have them on our radar indeed for future. Need to grow our flock more!

[Sheepwheat]

That's great. As a lamb eater has been almost impossible to buy Canadian lamb in most stores. The reality of most prairie sheep producers having to ship lambs east for processing where we already have demand here is sad. It would be sure nice to develop prairie processing that could fill the demand instead of the small processors that are not high volume. If you find a seller in Regina , let us know.

We actually are delivering several fresh lambs to Regina within the next two weeks. If you are serious, we could get some to you as we will be there anyway.

[blackpowder]

Good for you not starting at too low a price point. Stick to your guns. Quality will pay.


Ever notice the annoying people on here never touch a positive ag story????

[Sheepwheat]

Good for you not starting at too low a price point. Stick to your guns. Quality will pay.


Ever notice the annoying people on here never touch a positive ag story????

Lol. We did under price some products initially. Think we are figuring it out finally. And I don’t mean to scare everyone off from ordering some. We are very competitive (much cheaper) with the likes of pineview farms, prairie meats and other places like that.

[grassfarmer]

It is so hard with beef, because beef is everywhere, accessible, and cheap. Lamb is a niche just by being lamb, which makes it a whole lot easier to tap into a market where people simply struggle to find any!

I wouldn't agree with that - high quality grass-fed beef is pretty scarce and not cheap. Producing that product is a niche too. I see a lot of the grass-fed beef direct marketers advertising just now that "new supply" will be available soon. If they are killing in January or February it isn't grass-fed and it's not going to be good. Still room for lots of amateurs it seems.

[Sheepwheat]

I wouldn't agree with that - high quality grass-fed beef is pretty scarce and not cheap. Producing that product is a niche too. I see a lot of the grass-fed beef direct marketers advertising just now that "new supply" will be available soon. If they are killing in January or February it isn't grass-fed and it's not going to be good. Still room for lots of amateurs it seems.

Hey grass, I agree with you 100%. I do think you maybe missed my point though. I can walk in any store in western Canada and find generic beef, because it is abundant, an for the most part a mass produced commodity. Lamb is hard to find. But then try to find Canadian lamb? It is like trying to find quail eggs or duck, or grass raised turkeys. And trying to sell a whole beef for 8 to 18 plus dollars a lb is pretty tough I would think? Then try to sell your whole production of say a couple hundred steers into this kind of market?

In my view, as soon as you raise a lamb, you have a niche product in Canada. If you want to not be in the commodity game.

I hear you on the grass fed niche or the Kobe beef niche. Real niches for sure. But with plentiful beef everywhere you look, much harder to tap into, to find buyers for... I could be wrong, been there before, making assumptions and all.