Here is a copy of the Canadian Livestock Transport Newsletter.
Latest News
ALP Welcomes new Interim Directors and has filled the Director-in-training position!
New ALP Interim Directors
ALP is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has fulfilled the two, vacant Interim Director positions. While we currently await their formal appointment from Marketing Council, we are pleased to welcome Jordan Allen and Rick Cromarty to the Board of Directors. As these are interim positions, an election will be required for the positions at the ALP AGM on November 19, 2022.
Jordan Allen along with her husband Dustin and their 3 children, own and operate ClaireLee Ranch. Jordan grew up on a cattle ranch/grain farm south of Cochrane. When Jordan and Dustin bought their home and land in 2015, the plan was always to have livestock, but cattle weren’t a possibility at the time. In January 2020, their daughter got her first 4-H lambs and they decided that they would like to start a flock. In March 2020, they purchased 30 bred commercial Rambouillet ewes and prepared for lambing that spring. Even though that first lambing was a steep learning curve and very hard work they loved every minute of it. Now two years later, they have 120 ewes and added Suffolk, Ile de France and Rideau Arcott into the flock and plan to expand their operation over the next few years. Jordan is honored to sit on the Alberta Lamb Producers Board of Directors, and looks forward to meeting other producers as well as the knowledge she will gain from being in this position.
Rick Cromarty was born and raised in the East Central Community of Provost, Alberta. Here he grew to love all the aspects of Agriculture. Going to university In the USA gave him a much broader view of the Agriculture Industry, as well he spent some time in Uganda Africa, leading in the Agriculture Industry there as well. Rick calls South Cara Farms Ltd. home with his wife GerriLynn, together raised 5 children, where his flock of 500 and growing Ewes consist mainly of commercial Canadian and Rideau Arcott. They also enjoy growing Fat Lambs. Even though Rick and his wife are relatively new themselves to raising sheep, Both Rick's father, and Grandfather and GerriLynn's grandfather raised sheep in the past. Rick's Son Justice is part of the operation and soon will have a fifth-generation on the farm.
Please help us in welcoming Jordan and Rick to the board!
New ALP Director in Training
ALP is also pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has fulfilled the vacant Director in Training position. 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. We are pleased to welcome Clarence Paterson to the Board of Directors, in the Director in Training position.
Clarence is a small purebred polypay breeder based in Jumping Pound. He works full time on the ranch raising sheep and helping his wife raise their two sons. He has spent many years volunteering on the sheep Committee for the Calgary Stampede and looks forward to bringing his experiences and knowledge to the board.
Please help us in welcoming Clarence to the board!
Prescriptive Grazing for Vegetation Management in Natural Landscapes Webinar
Targeted or prescriptive grazing can be defined as the use of a specified kind of livestock at a determined season, duration, and intensity to accomplish defined vegetation and landscape goals. The Prescriptive Grazing for Vegetation Management in Natural Landscapes project is an ongoing multi-partnership project designed to provide recommendations for land managers, livestock producers, and livestock grazing practitioners involved in implementing targeted grazing programs.
Join February 24 between 12 and 1pm MST for a webinar which will focus on guidelines for preparing grazing prescriptions specific to targeted grazing programs. The recommended guidelines presented are based on an extensive literature review and interviews conducted by Sue Michalsky of Paskwa Consulting Ltd. and Amanda Miller of Palouse Rangeland Consulting. Sue and Amanda will present the findings and there will be opportunity for questions and input from participants. There is no charge for the webinar but donations are gratefully accepted.
Alberta Meat Inspection Regulation Update - Video Ante-Mortem Inspection Program
The Alberta Meat Inspection Regulation has been updated to enable the Video Ante-mortem Inspection Program (VAMI) which allows for a humane death and ante-mortem inspection for animals that cannot be transported to an abattoir. Effective January 4, 2022, Alberta livestock producers and abattoir operators can make the business decision whether or not to participate in VAMI.
On the VAMI program webpage provided, you will find:
- A summary of the program provisions,
- A link to a guidance document for producers and abattoir operators,
- A link to a document outlining abattoir operator responsibilities, and
- A link to an instruction sheet on how to access and use the VAMI online tool.
If you have questions or require additional information please contact me at 780-641-8991 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Ron Pate at 403-381-5179 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
AgriRecovery: Applications for phase two scheduled to open January 5
Applications for phase two of the 2021 Canada-Alberta Livestock Feed Assistance AgriRecovery initiative are scheduled to open January 5, 2022.
In phase two, producers can apply for additional compensation (a secondary payment) to help cover extraordinary costs over and above the phase one initial payment. Beekeepers are also eligible for phase two.
Producers are encouraged to apply online.
The application deadline is January 31, 2022.
Learn more
Notice of Amendments to the Alberta Meat Inspection Regulation
Effective December 8, 2021 the Alberta Meat Inspection Regulation was amended.
There are two key changes that we wish to share with you:
- The co-ownership of an animal for slaughter by up to 4 co-owners is permitted for large species (>227 kg/500 lbs live weight) slaughtered under an On-Farm Slaughter Operation licence. Meat from a co-owned large animal can be shared amongst the households of the co-owners.
- Uninspected slaughter waste from an On-Farm Slaughter Operation may be sold or gifted, for use as bait in hunting or trapping.
For additional details and updated information, please refer to our webpage (https://www.alberta.ca/on-farm-slaughter-operation-licence.aspx).
If you have questions or would like additional information, contact us via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
NEW UCVM sheep parasite control website
ALP is excited to announce that there is a new website available to producers, with the aim to provide locally relevant and up to date information regarding sheep parasites in western Canada and also serve as a platform to present and help translate our research results going forward.
You can check out the new website here: https://vet.ucalgary.ca/research/sheep-parasite-control/home
A big thank you to Dr. John Gilleard, BVSc, PhD, DipACVM, DipEVPC, FCAHS, MRCVS, Michel Levy, DVM, Dipl ACVIM Camila de Queiroz, PhD Student, along with a number of their summer students over the past few years for creating this great new resource for producers!
Update: Alberta Lamb Producers Plebiscite on Service Charge Model Refundability
Alberta Lamb Producers Plebiscite on Service Charge Model Refundability
In September 2021, the Government of Alberta declared a state of public health emergency due to increasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. With new measures to protect the health care system and decrease the spread of the virus, the Alberta Lamb Producers (ALP) decided to move its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on November 20, 2021, from in-person to online (virtual).
A plebiscite on ALP’s service charge model refundability was planned for Alberta’s lamb industry to occur in conjunction with the AGM on November 20, 2021, with two methods for voting (electronically from November 1-20, 2021, and in-person at the AGM).
Due to concerns with voting in-person and moving to an online AGM, on September 30, 2021, the Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council (Marketing Council), in consultation with ALP, decided to shift the voting period for this plebiscite to ALP’s 2022 AGM, which is anticipated to be held in November 2022.
Marketing Council and ALP recognize the importance of the plebiscite for Alberta’s lamb industry. Collectively, they have determined that this is the best path forward to ensure all eligible lamb producers have an opportunity to vote in the plebiscite.
Further details about the plebiscite for fall 2022 and voting methods will be available to producers in the coming months.
Please direct any questions or concerns regarding this change to ALP at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via phone at 403-948-8533 or Marketing Council at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
New Research Project Funding Awarded to ALP
Project title: Investigating the efficacy of sheep respiratory vaccines in pre-weaned and weaned lambs
The Alberta Lamb Producers recently received $150,000 in funding from RDAR to evaluate the efficacy of a UK sheep respiratory vaccine from Merck called Ovipast Plus, and to evaluate an experimental sheep respiratory vaccine from VIDO, which was built a few years ago with ALMA funding and support of others in the sheep industry, including ALP and OSF. Lead researchers for this vaccine study are Dr. Joyce Van Donkersgoed from Alberta, Dr. Cathy Bauman from Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), and Dr. Jose Perez-Casal from VIDO.
The RDAR funding is matched with industry funding from Alberta Lamb Producers (ALP), Ontario Sheep Farmers (OSF), Merck Animal Health, and the North American Lamb Corporation (NALC).
The research will evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccines in ewes in boosting colostral immunity to reduce preweaning mortality and in weaned lambs to reduce post-weaning mortality. Additional outcomes that will be measured include growth performance and carcass quality. The research requires large numbers of ewes and feeder lambs with the ability to follow the animals through slaughter; therefore, the research will be conducted at the NALC ewe barns and feedlot in Iron Springs, Alberta and the feeder lambs will be followed through at slaughter at Canada Lamb Processors in Innisfail, Alberta.
This research will also provide training of a Master’s student in epidemiology at OVC. The research will start this fall and hopefully be completed by December 2022. Results will be communicated to sheep producers.
We thank RDAR for supporting this important industry applied vaccine research and stayed tuned for more project updates to come!
M.ovi Awareness Webinar Follow-up
Thank you to those who registered for the Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M.ovi) Awareness Webinar on June 14th, a partnership webinar between Alberta Goat Association, Alberta Lamb Producers, and Alberta Farm Animal Care. They were unfortunately not able to record the webinar, but we are able to share PDFs of the presentations (see attached).
Some funding is available to do M.ovi testing on animals that present the greatest risk to contact bighorn sheep. If you have questions about testing, contact Dr. Mark Ball at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
There is also funding available for fencing to exclude bighorn sheep. If you have inquiries about fencing, contact Dr. Anne Hubbs at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..