Statistics Canada has released the January 1, 2013 sheep inventory estimates. Ontario continues to have the largest flock in Canada with thirty- three percent of the Canadian breeding flock. The percentage of the breeding flock residing in each province is illustrated in the graph below.
As shown in the ewes on farm graph below, the number of ewes on farm in Ontario has remained relatively stable for the past three years. The number of ewes in Quebec has been decreasing while in Alberta the number of ewes has been increasing. The 2011 census numbers that were released this past year resulted in an adjustment to the Ontario ewe inventory numbers for the period 2007 – 2011 showing more growth in the industry than had previously been estimated. Overall, the ewe numbers in Canada have decreased by 0.7% since January 2012.
As expected, the numbers of replacement ewes on farm are following the same trends as the number of ewes, with Ontario numbers staying relatively stable, Quebec numbers trending down and Alberta numbers increasing. This is illustrated in the replacement ewes on farm graph below. Overall, the replacement ewe numbers have increased by 5.4% in Canada since January 2012.
Market lamb inventories in Ontario and Alberta have increased slightly since last January, while they have decreased in Quebec. The market lamb graph below shows the changes in market lamb inventory on January 1st since the year 2000. Overall, market lamb numbers on farm have increased by 2.4% in Canada since January 2012.
The sheep inventory statistics can be viewed on the Statistics Canada website.
