Advertise on podcast: Flock Talk

We're delighted to have Brent Herrington of Herrington's Quality Butchers back on the podcast to discuss what consumers really want and how producers can deliver it. Brent shares how his years of experience on a dairy farm and working as a butcher have shaped the way he looks at lamb production and talks about what today's consumers are really looking for when buying lamb as well as some misconceptions that producers may have about what consumers actually want. Brent discusses how consumer trends have changed over the years and how they've influenced the way he markets and prepares lamb today. He also talks about developing strong relationships with producers, the characteristics he looks for in a lamb carcass to provide a great experience for both the butcher and the customer and some missed opportunities that can reduce the value of an otherwise good lamb. Brent shares how he maximizes all the opportunity of the lamb, the various ways he utilizes it, how to grow customer awareness and interest in Ontario Lamb and much more!

This week we have Bill McCutcheon joining Flock Talk to discuss how carcass-based marketing works for Ontario lamb producers. Bill talks about his business and his role on Ontarios lamb industry. Bill talks about the various options available to Ontario sheep producers for marketing lambs and where his program fits. Bill shares what the qualifications are for new producers with market-ready lamb to go through his program and the information producers receive to improve their flock. Bill talks about what producers are paid versus the live auction price and what keeps a producer committed to this marketing option despite market fluctuations plus much more! For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

This week we're joined by Yaser Al Qayem from Blue Lakes Premium Meets also known as Park Hill Meats to talk about their recent transition to federal inspection and how it's given them grated access to the Ontario lamb market. Yaser shares what federal inspection allows them to do that wasn't possible as a provincially inspected plant and talks about their plan to access new international market opportunities. Yaser also shares what a reliable of Ontario lamb supply looks like and the importance of consistency when serving larger markets. Yaser provides insight into the mutual benefits of producers building relationships when selling directly to processors and how his business builds trust and confidence in regards to payment processing. He also forecasts what opportunities he sees for Ontario lamb if processing capacity moves to more toward federal inspection plus much more! For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

This week we're delighted to have Denise Bonin-Mount on Flock Talk. Denise is a first-generation with a ton of experience and was recently featured as part of the Canadian Agriculture International Year of the Woman Farmer campaign. Denise shares her untraditional story from traveling the world to farming which she got into later on in her life. Denise talks about getting started with livestock, getting serious about becoming a career farmer, seizing opportunity, overcoming challenges, lessons learned and so much more! For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

Julianna Tindall is a masters student with the University of Guelph and joins the podcast to discuss her research project, looking at how grazing cover crops with sheep or beef cattle effects soil health and the yield of the following crop on Ontario farms. Julianna shares some surprise findings in her research and reveals some of the biggest opportunities for sheep farmers using this system. Julianna talks about situations where grazing cover crops works well and when it doesn't and gives producers strategies to convince crop farms of the benefits of grazing cover crops. Julianna shares what she's learned working with producers and what has challenged her assumptions going into the project plus so much more! For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

Bill Costanzo is an extension program specialist for The Livestock Guardian Dog Program at Texas A&M and joins Flock Talk to discuss livestock guardian dogs and tracking devices. Bill talks about his research with GPS collars, how they work, their effectiveness and shares some of his biggest insights gained from GPS E-fence and tracking collars that producers may not expect. Bill also discusses limitations, battery life, and the difference between a GPS collar versus an E Collar. Bill shares common mistakes producers make using the GPS collars, software and interpreting the data plus so much more! For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

Richard Ehrhardt joins Flock Talk to discuss replacement ewe lambs and reproductive success in accelerated flocks. Richard shares some of his background career history, what an accelerated production is, and why more producers are interested in this model. Richard shares some of the biggest factors to evaluate before deciding whether or not to breed replacement ewe lambs, what separates ewe lambs that succeed reproductively versus the ones that struggle during an accelerated production system, and criteria producers should be using when selecting potential flock replacements plus much more! For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

This week, we're joined by Gordon Schroeder, former executive director of the Saskachewan Sheep Development Board. Gord talks about his recent retirement, reflects on his career over the years and shares some memorable moments. Gord shares how the industry has changed and some of the successes he's proud of that have helped move the industry forward. Gord addresses how he approaches the way his organization prioritized needs at the time with a limited budget, foreseeable opportunities and challenges. Gord talks about his biggest mentors, leaves some advice and encouragement for the next generation and what's next for him during his retirement plus much more! For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

Delma Kennedy shares some of her industry experience and expertise as a sheep specialist to help producers set their newborn lambs up for success. Delma talks about how much of a lambs success is determined prior to birth and the critical things she looks for in the first few minutes after the lamb is born to help ensure its success. She discusses importance of body condition scoring, colostrum quality, quantity and timing, naval care and ewe-lamb bonding. She shares some signs that a lamb may be at risk for cold stress plus the common mistakes seen on farm when trying to manage cold stress. Lastly, Delma leaves producers with her biggest takeaway that will make the biggest difference in lamb survival. For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

Dr. Charlotte Winder joins Flock Talk to discuss colostrum and early life health in sheep. Charlotte gives an overview of her job, her research program, projects and what lead her to focus on colostrum and early life health in sheep. Charlotte goes in depth to discuss a current research project on the impact of transfer of passive immunity and the various assessments made on farm for better growth in lamb survival. Charlotte gives producers key takeaways, talks about the Brix refractometer which is an on-farm tool used to measure colostrum quality and what producers should be doing to help maximize colostrum management. Charlotte talks about the role veterinarians play in improving colostrum management and where they can have the biggest impact, and why there is a gap between what research recommends and what's happening practically on farm plus much more!! For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

Eastern Ontario Veterinarian Heather Aitken brings a wealth of information to Flock Talk this week to talk about lamb mortality. Heather shares first steps of investigating and understanding the cause of a lamb loss, common causes, and warning signs that producers might be missing leading up to a loss. Heather also shares how she distinguishes between losses driven my disease versus other factors such as management or environment and the importance of observing each individual in your flock and tracking data, being proactive plus much much more! For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

This week we're thrilled to have Mike Draper join us on Flock Talk. Mike is an Ontario Farmer and a senior manager at Animal Welfare Services (AWS). Mike shares his extensive work history and what lead him to his role at AWS. Mike breaks down the role of AWS in Ontario, the role of an inspector, farmers' rights, the reason for inspection, assessing animals and the process of seizing animals plus much much more! For more information on Animal Welfare Services, visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/animal-welfare For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

Ontario producer, Phil Botden joins Flock Talk this week to talk all about his confinement-based lambing system. Phil shares why he chose confinement lambing, his process and some of the biggest misconceptions about the system. Phil also dives into managing barn environment and biosecurity and what he's watching for when checking on his lambing ewes plus much more! For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

This week we sit down with the farmer behind Ewe-Nique Dairy Inc. and part of Mark Martin Dairy Sheep in Drayton, Ontario to learn about his farm and get caught up with what's been going on at the Dairy Sheep Cooperative. Mark discusses what's been working, demand from processors, consumer interest, challenges they're facing and where the co-op is headed next, priorities and plans for the future. Mark also talks about the effects of the government moving sheep milk under the Milk Act and any lessons learned from the process of developing the co-op and growing production. For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)

Ontario Sheep Farmers Chris and Jen Vervoort share how they got into sheep farming and why they decided to start synchronizing their flock. They break down the two different systems to synchronizing sheep, the products used and the benefits of having the data to optimize the genetics of their flock. They give an overview of the advantages and benefits as well as the risks and downsides of synchronization and how they've measured lamb survival outcomes with synchronized versus natural exposures. Chris and Jen give some advise to producers at the beginning stages of the synchronization process and share how they manage mental health regarding sheep mortality plus much more. For more OSF content, follow us on Social Media Instagram & Facebook: @OntarioSheepFarmers X : @OntarioSheep and Visit our Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ontariosheep.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ (http://ontariosheep.org/)