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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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 3. 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

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

The Grazing Crew

Rotational & intensive grazing

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. .

Grazing to encourage timber growth

Predator management

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

Stocking and usage

Managing in riparian areas

Extending the grazing season

Animal characteristics Meat qualities AND grazing qualities.

Managing animals and tree species and age

Competitive Advantage

Questions