The National Sheep Network (NSN) includes Alberta Lamb Producers, Ontario Sheep Farmers, and Les Éleveurs d’ovins du Québec. Together these three provinces represent 75% of Canada’s ewe flock. These organizations collaborate to share resources and lead on common industry issues.
Membership is open to any provincial sheep organization that is interested in supporting a strong, sustainable and profitable Canadian sheep industry.
To keep producers informed, the NSN now shares meeting summaries on its website. Starting April 2022, updates from all board meetings are available for review.
About the NSN
What is the National Sheep Network (NSN)?
The NSN is a national collaboration between interested provincial sheep organizations focused on information sharing and industry development.
Who is involved?
Founding members include LEOQ (Quebec), OSF (Ontario), and ALP (Alberta). Other provincial organizations are welcome to join the discussions.
Where do meetings take place?
Executives from participating provinces meet monthly via Zoom.
When was the NSN formed?
The NSN began in November 2016 and was formalized with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Fall 2018.
Why was the NSN created?
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.
The goal is to foster collaboration among provincial sheep organizations by sharing knowledge, coordinating efforts, and strengthening the Canadian sheep industry, all using existing resources.
How does the NSN operate?
The NSN has no formal budget. Staff from each organization share the workload. Expenses are shared by those that benefit from the investment, allowing members to prioritize their spending.
Additional Background Context
The National Sheep Network (NSN) has made multiple efforts to collaborate with the Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) on key industry issues, including the Animal Health Canada Working Group, the Code of Practice Review, and pregnancy ultrasounding. Unfortunately, CSF declined each invitation.
These efforts were intended to build bridges and identify shared priorities. However, CSF has stated it will not engage with NSN unless dues are paid, without specifying the cost or expected return on investment (ROI).
ROI concerns are significant, and part of the reasons why NSN left. Unresolved questions about funding for the Verified Sheep Program, and Producers’ concerns on CSF’s lack of response on the Scrapie Flock Eradication Program contributed heavily to NSN’s decision to step away.
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.
NSN has also reached out to provincial chairs to initiate dialogue, but those offers were declined. Most recently, CSF stated it would not engage with NSN until the licence fee challenge in Ontario is resolved.
Despite these challenges, NSN members remain committed to responsible spending aligned with their organizational missions and mandates.
What Our Canadian Federation Of Agriculture Membership Does For Our Producers - Through The NSN
The NSN has no formal budget. Staff from each organization share the workload. Expenses are shared by those that benefit from the investment, allowing members to prioritize their spending
About CFA
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) was formed in 1935 as a unified voice to speak on behalf of Canadian farmers. The work of the CFA continues today as a farmer-funded, national umbrella organization comprising of provincial general farm organizations and national and interprovincial commodity groups. CFA represents producers of all commodities, who operate farms of all sizes. Through its members, the CFA represents approximately 190,000 Canadian farm families from coast to coast.
How CFA Works For Farmers
CFA aims to achieve a thriving and sustainable agriculture sector in Canada, which delivers real social and economic benefits across the country. Policies and programs are developed through a grassroots, democratic process that engages members in comprehensive discussions, considering policy issues from various points of view. Earning and maintaining public trust in the agriculture sector, through words and actions, is vital to the CFA and its members.
Objectives of The CFA
- Coordinate the efforts of agricultural producer organizations throughout Canada for the purpose of promoting their common interest.
- Assist members and where necessary, government, in forming and promoting national agricultural policies to meet changing domestic and international economic conditions.
- Promote and advance acceptance of positive social, economic and environmental conditions for those engaged in agricultural pursuits.
- Collaborate and cooperate with organized groups of producers outside Canada to further our objectives
What CFA is Doing For Farmers
At a high-level, CFA throughout the year has:
- Hosted the FPT Roundtable, bringing Canada’s agriculture Ministers together to hear from industry stakeholders on the shared priorities of the sector in advance of the SCAP.
- Engaged heavily with the government on a wide-range of environmental files, including the fertilizer emission reduction strategy.
- CFA is a founding member of the industry-led process to develop a Grocery Code of Conduct in Canada, to improve fair-dealing within the supplier/retailer relationship.
- CFA has worked with the Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council and Food and Beverage Canada to develop a National Workforce Strategy for Agriculture and Food and Beverage Manufacturing.
- CFA sits on the Resilient Economy Roundtable, one of five committees tasked with producing Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy framework.
Apart from these, CFA continues to work closely with the government on issues as they arise, to ensure that the farmer’s voice is represented and that programs and policies work to the betterment of Canadian agriculture.
CFA Member Policy, Project and Legislative Summary Update
2022 A Year In Review