Matt Govan, with his wife, Amber, and his kids, show off their Supreme Grand Champion Ram that sold at auction for $7,500. (Submitted photo/Matt Govan)

By Becky Zimmer

High prices

Bea-ewe-tiful day for sheep industry with high auction prices at show and sale

Jul 27, 2022 | 11:37 AM

The world redefined the definition of typical over the past three years and that has been no different for the sheep industry.

The Grasslands Exhibition that took place in Humboldt over the weekend saw some increases over typical sheep prices, including a near record-breaking sale of a Supreme Grand Champion Ram.

The ram sold for $7,500, the second highest sale of a purebred sheep across the country.

Following the show on Saturday afternoon, the sale took place during the banquet that evening.

While Matthew Govan, owner of The Govan Ranch near Englefeld, Sask., a member of the Saskatchewan Sheep Breeders Association (SSBA), and owner of the ram, was obviously pleased with the sale, the whole crowd was impressed with the animals that were up for sale.

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“I can’t even remember how many people come up to me and said the quality of the animals is excellent. Better than any other show that they’ve seen.”

That wasn’t the only impressive jump.

Govan said a typical year would see purebred breeding stock have a range of about $500 to about $1,500 per head with commercial sales usually somewhere around $300 to $500 per head.

His other ewes and rams averaged between $2,000 to $2,500, he said.

Even with the high numbers, this year was still tough for the sheep producers with only 130 animals up for auction compared to over 200 in 2019 when the SSBA hosted the All Canada Classic.

“We haven’t had an in-person sale in the last three years. As soon as you quit doing something for a while it’s hard to get back on your feet and run again.”

Govan sees this continuing for the future as well, he told farmnewsNOW following the sale that this is a great sign for both the Canadian and provincial sheep markets as they continue to grow. Livestock producers are seeing the advantages of raising sheep.

“There’s a lot of new people coming into the industry, people that are coming from the cattle industry. It’s easier to raise sheep. The animals are physically smaller. You don’t have to worry…I work off the farm so if my wife and kids are there then I don’t have to worry about them being trampled or something like that.”

While producers across the show were happy to be there in person, Govan said having both live and online auction capabilities has helped sales as well. Govan credited Direct Livestock Marketing Systems with their digital platform for their auction.

“(It) gives you the capability of drawing bids from across Canada.”

The Grasslands Exhibition has been held in Humboldt since 2015 with producers coming from across the province to show, sell, and learn about best practices with their herds.

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becky.zimmer@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @bex_zim