Setting the Example
Strong interest in sheep guides one shepherd to community involvement
by Clare Illingworth

For third-generation sheep producer Murray Emke, the farm is a place for his family to learn responsibility and build ties to the community. That’s why he encourages his children to be involved by setting the example himself.

The Emke family runs a 100-acre sheep operation in Bruce County, where it raises several breeds for meat and wool. In addition to the farm life, Murray is involved with the Canadian Sheep Breeders Association, the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency (OSMA) and works off the farm. He credits this heavy sheep involvement to following the direction his interests lie. This is true of his family as well. His two sons manage their own flocks and are heavily involved in 4-H clubs along with youngest daughter, nine-year-old Victoria, who is an active youth participant.

“My two oldest boys are largely involved in the sheep operation. They get along well and work hard at it,” says Murray. “The whole family, including my wife Nancy, has pitched in to get everything done.”

Murray’s greatest involvement with the sheep industry is through his role as District Two Chairman for OSMA, an area covering the Bruce and Grey counties. In this position he represents producers and shares their concerns on issues such as production and marketing with the rest of the province. He helps keep his district informed by planning education sessions, farm tours and bringing in guest speakers. One popular event is the pasture walk that helps shepherds understand and compare different pasture mixes.

“We have the largest sheep population in Ontario here in the Bruce and Grey counties,” says Murray. “I’m fortunate as chairman to have such a good executive committee.”

Murray also has a hand in promoting sheep production at local events. The Grey-Bruce Farmers’ Week dedicates one day to sheep production, presenting topics that affect sheep farmers, such as feeding programs, trade issues, composting and nutrient management. The International Ploughing Match in Grey county also has a sheep booth and demonstrations to educate producers and consumers about sheep production. One innovative segment invites Georgian College’s chefs to demonstrate recipes using lamb cuts.

But Murray reaches out to the non-farm community as well with the District 2 promotional lamb and wine banquet. This consumer-oriented event offers light entertainment and a delicious meal to help promote Ontario’s lamb sales.
On a national scale, Murray is one of three Ontario representatives for the Canadian Sheep Breeders Association, a governing body for purebred sheep operators across Canada. Here he deals with issues facing the national flock, including pure bred registry regulation and enforcement. This is a fitting role as the Emke farm raises three sheep breeds.

On the farm
Murray’s flock focuses on market lambs, which has allowed him to shift to Suffolk-Texel crosses from the purebred Suffolks he used to raise. This cross combines the superior lambing rates of the large Suffolk breed with the heavy lean muscling of the Texel.

It’s truly a family-run operation, says Emke. Everyone pitches in to get the work done -- but everyone also has their own preferences when it comes to breed.

Eldest son Craig, 19, raises Oxford Downs. This large breed reproduces well and sports a heavy fleece. More importantly, Oxfords had previously been in the Emke family, now returning under this fourth generation producer. Off the farm, Craig has recently completed college and is now apprenticing to be a millwright.

Middle son Logan, 14, is a grade nine student and has been raising a flock of North Country Cheviots for the past two years. He chose this breed for its quiet nature and unique look. North Country Cheviots are an extremely hardy breed from birth and don’t require extensive supervision during lambing.

Each flock has 20-25 ewes and the boys are responsible for registering their own lambs, says Murray. The three flocks graze together outside of breeding and lambing season to save labour. In total, the farm averages 120 head and -- luckily for the Emkes -- the three breeds lamb at different times, allowing the old bank barn to house new born lambs for closer monitoring.

To keep the operation low-maintenance and all flocks healthy, he performs regular vaccinations for pulpy kidney and white muscle disease, and lambs only once a year with a goal of 1.8 weaned per ewe.

An added advantage
The Emke family prides themselves on using quality rams in their program, produced mainly from their own breeding. Murray has begun a program within his flock to prevent outbreak of scrapie -- a degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system -- in his flock.

While symptoms are slow to develop, the disease is always fatal. Currently, Canada requires the entire flock to be euthanized if one case develops, even though scrapie has not been linked with human disease. It is, however, associated with the brain protein known as a prion which causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in cattle. The two conditions are in the same disease class but their true connection is not yet understood.

Scrapie has been an industry-wide issue for a long time, says Murray. There’s no effective treatment and depopulation is a local solution, unsuccessful nationally. But a certain gene is known to be resistant to scrapie. They’re collectively called the R-factor, and sheep possessing both copies of this gene are less likely to contract the deadly disease-causing prion.

Murray believes a depopulation approach causes grief for both the producer and industry, and may be wasting animals that possess the valuable R-factor. To protect his own flock, Murray has begun genotyping ram studs for this genetic resistance, a procedure the industry has begun to adopt over the last four years. He plans to develop a flock that possess the genes for this valuable trait.

In the future Murray hopes Canada will increase their surveillance for scrapie in sheep. We need to take an active role in controlling disease, he says. By showing trading partners the nation has a good handle on the disease we can share confidence in Canada’s solid food security system.

Bringing the industry together
This July, Murray will attend the World Sheep and Wool Congress, where producers from around the world can benefit by learning about genetics and production techniques. He is looking forward to unveiling a CD that highlights the genetics and breeds in Ontario. The joint venture between OSMA and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food will allow easy location for breeders looking at a particular stock.

“This event is an opportunity to hear good speakers from around the world talk about issues relevant to the industry,” says Murray. “Learning what other producers are doing will help to keep our competitive edge.”

The World Sheep and Wool Congress is held every three to four years in different locations around the world and aims to bring producers, researchers, nutritionists and others involved in the sheep industry together to share ideas and knowledge.

A look into the future
Even though Ontario’s production is under pressure due to closed borders, the province needs to seek out new opportunities to market its sheep, says Murray. Some ideas may include value-added product and – when the borders open – more federally-inspected kill plants to allow for greater export.

“We have a strong marketing organization in Ontario and good people working for our interests,” says Murray. “Hopefully they will continue to do this.”