2. More Grass, More Trees, More Lamb
Jennifer Cunningham, Jay Springs Lamb Co., Pinantan Lake, BC
Canada

3. Outline Who we are. Where we are going and why Marketing, value chain
How are we making it happen
Grazing
Take home messages
We have had every livestock possible on the ranch
Always butchered and sold farm gate
Control grazed our place – dogs 3

4. Who we are We have had every livestock possible on the ranch
Always butchered and sold farm gate
Control grazed our place – dogs 4

5. Where we are Private land Woodlot licence Grazing lease Land base
Original woodlot
Woodlot – crown licence – provides tenure for the timber
Grazing lease – 20 year – provides tenure for the forage
Each land tenure – assorted and differing regulations.
Because woodlot and grazing lease overlap one another providing for access and management of two different resources on the same land. (NOT TYPICAL)
This makes is possible for integration of management of our private lands, woodlot licence and grazing lease.
Location
Forestry and agriculture we operated separe
Woodlot 311
5 yr cut control
Beetle/blow down disasters have messed up management plans for the next 10 years
Harvested 8000m3 of pine last 2 years
Large openings for grazing/planting
Future – 8-10 years of no harvesting 5

6. Map of BC Location in province to sell sheep and timber
Major population
Lack of mill
Changes to meat regualtions and how we sold our lamb 6

7. Where we are - 4 hours & 20 minutes from Vancouver, BC
- 7 km east of Pinantan Lake, 34 km north east of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Land base
Original woodlot
Woodlot and grazing lease overlap one another providing for access and management of two different resources on the same land.
This makes is possible for integration of management of our private lands, woodlot licence and grazing lease.
Location
Forestry and agriculture we operated separe
Woodlot 311
5 yr cut control
Beetle/blow down disasters have messed up management plans for the next 10 years
Harvested 8000m3 of pine last 2 years
Large openings for grazing/planting
Future – 8-10 years of no harvesting 7

8. Where we are going and why
10 years of grazing on cut blocks
Vegetation control and site prep for plantation management
I tell you, you want to work hard try this for a summer. The sheep get fat and the shepherds get fit. 8

9. Building a value chain Entered markets - conventional approaches
Too much work not enough pay
Quality attributes embedded in animals by enhanced management not supported by the markets we were entering.
Annual sheep sales in Kamloops and area
Breeding and selling purebreds
Selling commercial breeding stock
Local auction yards
Breeding for wool
Ethnic markets
Provincial lamb retail promotions/commodity market sales

10. Iterate limitations: climate change and affect on need for supplemental hay; sustainability – could put more sheep on range but would destroy property; more lamb means need for more marketing – time constraints, labour contraints

11. Our want of a sustainable lifestyle motivates our business.
Generation management –
Considerations: Parents retiring, management of landbase for 3 families, assorted skill sets and knowledge bases, courses, estate and business planning, marketing……….
Our mission statement:
Our main goal: Develop a viable operation selling and producing lambs to a market that will support a small scale sustainable farm.
Woodlot license 311 will be a viable and sustainable operation meeting the family partner’s social, financial and environmental objectives.
Our want of a sustainable lifestyle motivates our business.

12. Result
Each lamb needs to sell for more!!!
Cost based pricing systems
Much more responsive to your farm management and your skills

13. Value Chain
Things you are doing: Farm-gate sales; restaurants, working with chefs, farmers markets.
Found a processor – we wanted licensed meat(this gave us flexibility and change was coming)/like the majority of people 7 years ago not many knew the different layers of regulations and licenses, what I know now I could have gotten away with do much
Developed a relationship with our processor – didn’t want to do lamb anymore because of past difficult producers.
We found being on time for drop offs and pick-ups, sticking to our prearranged schedule, being up front & communicating built a relationship that has saved us both money
If something doesn’t work think of another way to do it.
Learned about food – surrounded by avid organic producers, “foodies”, the consumer was intelligent, knowledgeable about food wanted straight from the farm, It felt like constantly giving a part of yourself away with every piece of meat.
Constantly answering questions.
We tasted the food from other producers, learned about different varieties of vegetables, got hooked on taste; saw the good producers did not apologize for their prices. 13

14. Branding yourself What is in a name? Can you live up to that name?
Will that name hinder or grow with you?
Are you the real thing?
What I do on the farm is what I have to sell directly to the customer who will pay the price I set for wat I say I do to produce that lamb, where I produce that lamb and how I produce that lamb.

15. How are we making it happen?
Management of farm and woodlot together.
Need more grass, more lamb, more trees.

16. Original Management Objectives
Improve production costs
expand grazing season to cut down on hay bill
increase production per ewe
increase gains on lambs
Increase flock to level of sustainability – financial, produce more
lamb
Increase tree inventory on ranch to increase woodlot AAC while protecting wildlife and ecological values and creating an multi-aged tree diversity
This is what we had at the time to work with:
100 – 105 lb lamb finished on grass at 3-5 months

17. Agroforestry system – silvopasture
Blends management of trees, forages and livestock – interactions are planned and managed
System is operated for and evaluated as a single enterprise rather than as separate parts

18. The Grazing Crew

19. Rotational & intensive grazing

20. Agroforestry Forest 2020 project
Here is taking advantage of opportunities. F2020 is a Kyoto protocol program where the Fed gov’t pays for land to be put into tree production. They pay you to do it, you get the trees and the gov’t gets the carbon credits.
We put about 30 ha of marginal pasture into a diverse mix of native softwoods. The sheep will graze in between. This is a silvopasture practice since the sheep are rotated through the different paddocks and with spacing there will always be forage. .

21. Grazing to encourage timber growth

22. Predator management

23. Fencing
Non- permanent positions – used as tools to manage/contol the forage resource, undersirable species etc

24. Stocking and usage

25. Managing in riparian areas

26. Extending the grazing season

27. Animal characteristics
Meat qualities AND grazing qualities.

28. Managing animals and tree species and age

29. Competitive Advantage

30. Questions