Alberta Lamb!

On July 23, 2020, changes were made to the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (MAPA) to enhance governance, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Alberta’s agricultural marketing boards and commissions’ (MBCs) legislative framework, and reduce unnecessary regulatory burden. One of the ways in which the MAPA amendments accomplish these goals is by providing MBCs with the authority to develop bylaws. The implementation of ALP’s initial bylaws in 2021-22 involved drafting a new Alberta Lamb Producers Plan Regulation to remove various governance and administrative provisions and shift them into the bylaws.

Alberta Lamb Producers Transitioning to Bylaws Background Document

One benefit of adopting a bylaws framework is the nimbleness to manage changes or amendments in a timely manner. Development of, and amendments to, bylaws require stakeholder consultation, and approval from ALP’s producers/delegates/board of directors and Marketing Council. No further government decisions are required, and ALP is responsible for maintaining the bylaws and ensuring they are available to all stakeholders.

ALP Bylaws 

Alberta Lamb Producer Plan Regulation

The National Sheep Network is currently comprised of the Alberta Lamb Producers, the Ontario Sheep Farmers and Les Eleveurs d'ovins du Quebec. Together, the three provinces represent 75 percent of Canada's ewe flock and have joined together to leverage resources and producer leadership on issues of mutual interest. 

Membership to the National Sheep Network is open to any provincial sheep organization that is interested in working collaboratively to ensure the Canadian sheep industry is profitable and sustainable. 

Producers have indicated that they would like a better understanding the work the NSN is doing for the industry. The NSN has recently created a new section on their website called NSN Meeting Summaries, where starting April, 2022, meeting summaries from all NSN board meetings will be shared for producers to review.

About the NSN

Who

• LEOQ, OSF, ALP.
• Open to any other provincial sheep organization that wants to be part of the discussions.

What

• National collaboration of interested provincial sheep organizations.

Where

• Executive from the member provinces meet monthly via zoom calls.

When

• The NSN came together in November 2016 and formalized the collaboration with an MOU in fall in 2018.

Why

• Governed by a Memorandum of Understanding the NSN collaboration is an engagement between staff and elected leaders from the participating organizations utilizing existing resources. The intention of the collaboration is to:
• Share information between the provincial organizations,

How

• The NSN has no budget. Staff from each organization work together to carry the workload. Expenses are shared by those that benefit from the investment, allowing members to prioritize their spending.

Additional Background Context:

It is important to recognize that the NSN has reached out to the CSF to work together on specific issues, for example:

• The Animal Health Canada working group – to discuss sharing costs of participating and representation. CSF said no,
• Code of Practice Review – CSF said no, and
• Pregnancy ultrasounding.

The goal was to find an issue that we could work together on as a first step of building bridges.

• CSF has indicated that they will not speak to the NSN unless dues are paid, without giving an indication of what the dues would be, or what the return on investment for NSN would be, and
• ROI is important, as it was part of the reason why NSN left i.e., questions were not be answered around how project funding for the Verified Sheep Program was being allocated. Producers were expressing concern about the CSF’s lack of response on the Scrapie Flock Eradication Program.
• It’s important to recognize that the NSN has, on several occasions, reached out to the CSF to work together on specific issues (e.g., Code of Practice Review, Animal Health Canada Working Group, a new Sheep Value Chain Roundtable), and was turned down. The goal of this was to start building bridges and find a way to work together.
• The NSN has also reached out to provincial chairs in the past to start a dialogue on finding ways to work together. Again, this request was turned down and recently the NSN was told that the CSF would not engage in discussions with us until after the licence fee challenge currently underway in Ontario.

• Notwithstanding the legacy issues, NSN members have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that expenditures are consistent with the their respective missions and mandates.

What does our Canadian Federation of Agriculture Membership throught the NSN do for our producers?

CFA Member Policy, Project & Legislative Summary Update

 Member Policy Update Feb 2023

2022 A Year in Review

 CFA Highlights for Members

Director in Training 
Alberta Lamb Producers (ALP) Director-in-Training Program was developed to engage membership and stimulate Board succession planning.  A Board appointed eligible producer may participate in ALP Board meetings as a non-voting director to gain exposure to how the ALP Board operates and to become familiar with a number of topics that are critical to the current and future industry.
For more information about the program or to complete the application process, click here!

Election/Acclamation
Director elections are held in the years when there are openings on the board, either due to directors completing their terms at the next AGM or that have left the board for other reasons. An official nomination is required to enter into the director election, and can be submitted at any point during the year, however is due on the same day as the ALP fiscal year-end. The nomination form includes eligibility declarations and request for profile information. A call for nominations will be made at the board’s discretion during the months leading up to the closing date for nominations. After the closing date for nominations, if there is only a sufficient number of valid nominations to meet the number of vacant board positions, no election will be held that year.  Nominated producers will be acclaimed to the board at the ALP AGM.
2023/24 Director Nomination Form
ALP Director Description
Director Expense Policy

To gauge the specific skills and representation of different sectors of the sheep-industry on the board, a skills matrix has been developed and is updated as directors leave and join the board.

Appointment
In the event, that a director leaves the board at anytime other than the AGM, the board may make a written application to Marketing Council to appoint a replacement. In choosing a replacement the board may consider current directors-in-training and/or potential gaps in the skills matrix. If the application is accepted, the appointed director’s term would be until the following AGM.  The individual must complete the nomination and election/acclamation process before joining the board as a full director.

Alberta Lamb Producers operates under the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, overseen by the Agricultural Products Marketing Council which has responsibility for facilitating the establishment and supervising the operations of agricultural boards and commissions in Alberta.

For a copy of the Alberta Lamb Producers Plan & Regulation, please visit the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act & Regulations webpage or download from links below.

Legislation and regulations mandating ALP operations:

• Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (Alberta Regulation 26/1999 with amendments up to and including Alberta Regulation 94/2020 Current as of June 12, 2020)
• Operation of Boards and Commissions Regulation

• Alberta Lamb Producers Authorization Regulation (Alberta Regulation 242/2001. With amendments up to and including Alberta Regulation 155/2017)
  The Alberta Lamb Producers Authorization Regulation, under the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, sets out the powers in the Act that may be used by the Alberta Lamb Producers.

• Alberta Lamb Producers Plan Regulation (Alberta Regulation 152/2022).
  The Alberta Lamb Producers Plan Regulation, under the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, establishes the Alberta Lamb Producers, defines the regulated product, sets the purpose, administration, and financing of the Plan, and outlines the governance framework and election processes for the board of directors. Regulation must be reviewed before 30 April, 2027.

• Alberta Lamb Producers Regulation (Alberta Regulation 389/2003/. With amendments up to and including Alberta Regulation 34/2022)
  The Alberta Lamb Producers Regulation, under the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, sets out the day-to-day operations of the Alberta Lamb Producers Commission. The Regulation describes how the Commission will administer the Alberta Lamb Producers Plan and how delegated powers will be used. The Regulation describes service charges, the service charge refund process, and dealer reporting requirements. Regulation expires on April 30, 2027..

View the current, Alberta Research Projects as of June, 2022

Alberta Lamb Producers (ALP) is committed to funding research. Partnering with other organizations, wherever possible, to work on projects provides better value as expertise can be shared, and resources and funding can be leveraged. 

ALP has changed the way we accept research proposals. By creating structure to this process, it allows for ALP to properly budget for research projects each year fiscal year and ensures the projects we support, align with ALP’s strategic plan.

Effective in  2021, our new Research Proposal Structure is as follows:

• ALP will be placing a call out to researchers to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) for upcoming research projects that will be seeking a monetary or in-kind investment from ALP. This call out will happen once a year, beginning in January of each fiscal year and will have a submission deadline provided.
• The LOI’s that are submitted by the deadline will then be reviewed by the ALP Board of Directors by the end of April each fiscal year, who will then select which projects ALP would like to see full proposals from. Those who have been selected to submit full proposals for further consideration, will have until the end of June, each fiscal year to do so.
• The ALP Board of Directors will then review the full proposals and decide which projects to fund by mid-end of August.
• Lastly, ALP will then reach out to all proposal applicants by the end of September, of each fiscal year to let them know if they have been approved or declined.

Alberta Lamb Producers (ALP) invites you to submit a Letter of Intent for research projects.

We  invite researchers with project proposals that match Alberta Lamb Producer’s Research Priorities to complete the Letter of Intent Form and submit it no later than March 31, 2024. Full proposals will be solicited in April with the target of having proposals approved by September 2024.

It is important to note that projects will be ranked accordingly on the following criteria:

• Ability to fall within current ALP priorities. If your project addresses more than one priority this will be noted.
  •  Alberta Research Priorities document, a joint Alberta industry collaboration, developed by ALP.
• Ability to leverage funds. Projects with other funding partners will ranked higher than projects asking ALP for the full amount of funds. The more leveraged dollars you can achieve the better. 
• Ability to communicate your research results and conclusions. Knowledge transfer to producers is of utmost importance. Mandatory activities include articles in the ALP quarterly N’ewesletters, factsheets, report for producers and a report for the ALP Board. Other communication activities include presentations at producer events, articles in agricultural press, etc. Please note: if you fail to provide communication material you might be at risk of losing funding or not receiving funding in the future.

If you have any questions, please contact Ashley Scott at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 403.948.8533.

Past Research projects supported by ALP include:

• Adaptation and Development of the Anesthetic Elastrator Band for use in the Canadian Lamb Industry, Chinook Contract Research Inc, 2022.
• Investigating the efficacy of Ovipast Plus® Vaccine in reducing bacterialInvestigating the efficacy of Ovipast Plus® Vaccine in reducing bacterialpneumonia in pre-weaned lambs and feedlot lambs, Dr. Joyce Vandonkersgoed and Dr. Cathy Bauman, 2022.
• Incidence and characterization of feedlot lambs and ewe flock lameness in Alberta, Dr. Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein, 2016 
• Improved accuracy in diagnosing pregnancy and predicting litter size at early ewe gestation; Metabolomics analyses for pen side kit development, Dr. Susan Markus, 2016 
• Reducing impacts of ergot alkaloids on performance of growing lambs, Dr. Kim Stanford, 2015 (Project summary)
• Development of a respiratory vaccine for sheep, Dr. Andrew Potter and Dr. Joyce Vandonkersgoed, 2014
• Predicting feeder lamb performance: a validation of Sheepbytes feeding recommendations, Dr. Susan Markus, 2014 (Project summary)
• Investigating and mitigating the emergence of Haemonchus contortus as a major pathogen of western Canadian sheep, Dr. John Gilleard and Dr. Michel Levy, 2014
• Benchmarking Canadian lamb carcass and meat quality through use of innovative platform technologies, Dr. Manuel Juarez, 2013

If you’d like more information about any of the research studies we have supported, or have questions about our policies, please contact the office.

ALP's AGM & Election Results

The Alberta Lamb Producers held its 2023 Annual General Meeting on Saturday November 18, 2023 when we saw 77 producers and guests in attendance (both in-person at the Red Deer Resort & Casino and virtually on Zoom). ALP's Chair, Emilie Wilson, started the meeting with warm remarks and board introductions, and also drew attention to the important industry stakeholders who were in attendance on our call. Emilie also reviewed ALP’s revised mission and vision, along with the newly established values for the organization.

The ALP business meeting followed, with Director acclamation and Director-in-training speeches. There were four Director-at-large positions open on the 2023/24 ALP board. Three eligible producers submitted valid nomination forms before the July 31, 2023 deadline to be entered as candidates in the 2023 election. As we received three valid nomination forms for the four Director-at-large positions, no election was needed to be held this year. ALP is pleased to announce that Jordan Allen, Martin Winchell and Darlene Hawco, were acclaimed at the AGM.  ALP will have one Interim Director-at-large position available and will be recruiting to fill the position after the AGM, as per our Plan Regulation. ALP was also pleased to announce that Jessica Chitwood has filled the vacant Director-in-training position.

Following the new Director and Director in Training speeches, Shannon Troke from King & Company Chartered Accountants reviewed the 2022/23 financial statements. ALP Finance Chair Judy Buck presented the 2023/24 budget, with Emilie Wilson (Chair) and Jordan Allen (Vice-Chair) presenting the ALP activity updates.
To submit a resolution for discussion at this year’s AGM, eligible Alberta Lamb Producers needed to complete our resolution form and submit it to the ALP office by September 15, 2023. Proposed resolutions would not be accepted past this deadline or from the floor at the AGM. ALP did not receive any proposed resolutions by our submission deadline of September 15, 2023, therefore there will be no conversation at the AGM regarding Resolutions.

ALP also extends a sincere thank-you to outgoing directors Judy Buck and Nicole Schieck, for their dedication, time and effort while serving on the board.

The AGM is only one evening—we want to hear from you throughout the year.  ALP is YOUR producer organization. Communicating with directors and staff will ensure you are getting the most from your check-off dollars.  If you ever have concerns, comments, tips on what we can do better—or just want to say hello—please feel free to contact the directors or the office for a chat. Director and staff contact information is available on the ALP website and in every N'ewesletter.

View the 2023 AGM Meeting Package 

View the AGM Meeting Minutes 2023 (to be approved by producers at the 2024 AGM)

 Why one AGM?

This 2018 AGM replaced the Zone Meetings that were previously held around the province. The ALP Board initiated these changes in 2016 and producers voted on them at the 2016 Zone Meetings. Previously, ALP hosted 5-7 Zone Meetings every fall throughout the province. Each Zone Meeting came at a cost of approximately $3000 and producer attendance at these meetings steadily decreased to the situation where sometimes there was not quorum (which was 7 eligible producers). With decreased access to government funding, the ALP Board seriously examined whether spending $3000 on seven eligible producers was an effective use of producer check-off. Holding one AGM allows us to bring in more speakers on more topics of interest to producers. ALP will move this AGM to different areas of the province each year. Directors are always available on the phone or email to discuss any concerns that producers have at any time of the year.

Alberta Lamb Producers check-off - Your investment in your industry

As the voice of the Alberta lamb industry, Alberta Lamb Producers is doing everything in its power to make an already strong industry even stronger.

Alberta Lamb Producers operates under the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, overseen by the Agricultural Products Marketing Council which has responsibility for facilitating the establishment and supervising the operations of agricultural boards and commissions in Alberta. For a copy of the Alberta Lamb Producers Plan & Regulation, please visit the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act & Regulations webpage or visit the ALP Regulations page.

In Alberta, a mandatory service charge (check-off) of $1.50 is paid by producers at the same time they buy Canadian Sheep Identification Program tags. This is not a tag cost; it is a very simple and efficient way of collecting the legislated check-off. Also a mandatory check-off of one cent per pound of wool marketed, will be deducted and remitted to Alberta Lamb Producers.

Check-off dollars are critical to the future success of Alberta's sheep industry. ALP's core operations and services depend 100% on producer check-off dollars.  Industry support for external projects and research greatly enhances their funding level and success.  Typically every check off dollar leverages around $3 of external funding. A pretty good return on your investment!

Industry service charges are very important to a producer group, especially to this relatively small but expanding livestock sector. Check-off maintains the infrastructure of Alberta Lamb Producers and also leverages substantial external funding to enable development of the sheep industry. The Marketing of Agricultural Products Act requires commissions to grant their members the option to claim check-off refunds. Payment of check-off is mandatory at the time of purchasing CSIP tags, but sheep producers are permitted to submit a service charge refund request for full reimbursement (see details below). 

It is important that producers fully understand the implications of claiming a refund – reduced check off income will result in a reduction or elimination of the following services, opportunities and benefits. We run a very lean operation, there is no fat to cut, check off refunds will reduce services for all producers. If we want the future of the Alberta lamb industry to be sustainable and gain momentum, we all need to support it.

• Advocacy
• Quarterly producer N'ewsletters
• Extensive producer knowledge Resources
• Websites – www.ablamb.ca  www.albertalamb.ca
• Information source
• External project funding
• Delivery of programs
• Media features
• Annual meeting & director elections
• Sheep producers included in government programs
• Opportunity to shape the future of your industry by speaking to your representatives and volunteering as a director to represent your fellow-producers.

Government need projects and advancements to be industry-driven; ALP provides that driver – your representation - to these projects. Without a strong infrastructure and a sound business plan, ALP could not participate to this level and leverage this kind of funding.

A refund request may be submitted for check-off payments made after September 1st, 2010.  

1. A refund request must be received by Alberta Lamb Producers by the 25th of the month following purchase, e.g. if tags are purchased in January, the refund request must be received by Alberta Lamb Producers postmarked or fax-dated no later than February 25th – the same date the remittance is received from CCWG. No extenuating circumstances will be considered.
2. All refund requests must be submitted on the form provided by Alberta Lamb Producers and made available on www.ablamb.ca or from the office upon request. The refund request must be in the same name or names as the service charge was paid.  If the purchase was recorded in two names, those same two people must sign the request for a refund and the refund cheque must be made payable to those two people.
3. Alberta Lamb Producers will refund the service charge to the producer annually within 30 days of the Alberta Lamb Producers year end.
4. Each producer will have the option of requesting a refund of the entire service charge or a portion thereof.

CSIP Ear Tag Service Charge Refund Request form (pdf)

Wool Sale Service Charge Refund Request form (pdf)

There is tremendous potential in the market and ALP offers valuable leading-edge information and resources to help producers take full advantage of the opportunities. 

Alberta Lamb Producers provides a voice for the sheep industry. We work with the public, the media, the Alberta government, and funders and agencies such as the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (disbanded), and Agriculture and Rural Development to create positive relations that benefit our members and our industry.

ALP also represents our members on a federal level as a member of the National Sheep Network; to the federal government and at numerous other national and international organizations.

ALP is a central point of contact for all industry participants. Producer check-off dollars provide the infrastructure that creates a collective voice and a positive influence.

ALP’s Strategic Plan continues to guide our planning and day-to-day decisions. 

View the new, 2022-2027 Strategic Plan here

ALP values your input. A big ‘Thank You’ to producers, who attend meetings and provide input through directors and staff.

“Alberta Lamb Producers: Empowering the sheep industry through education, innovation and advocacy" 

Together, our efforts are paying off