Lamb industry sees jump in demand

For the first time in 20 years of breeding sheep to stock commercial flocks, Liz Breakey is fielding calls from cattle ranchers looking to start up one of their own. "They call all the time lately," said Breakey, who raises British Suffolk and North Country Cheviot sheep west of Calgary with her husband Alan. "That's never happened in 20 years. They're looking to diversify. "And there's money there now. We've always made money, but this year you can make some decent money." The lamb industry in the province -valued at $42 million in 2008 and the third-largest in the country after Quebec and Ontario -is in the middle of a growth spurt. Ranchers are increasing the size of flocks, new producers are looking to get in and prices are rising. Alberta now boasts about 1,900 lamb producers, up from the 1,850 estimated in late 2009, while their organization estimates meat prices have climbed by at least 30 per cent in the past two years...more