South Peace Historical Society

    • Home
    • About / Contact Us
    • About Dorthea Horton
    • About This Collection
    • Bibliography
    • Brief History of the Peace
    • Credits
    • South Peace Historical Society Archives (External Link)
  • Table of Contents

    • Part 1: First Nations of the Peace River Region
    • Part 2: The Fur Trade Era
    • Part 3: Transportation and Communication
    • Part 4: Old Timers and the Price of Land
    • Part 5: Dawson Creek: The Story of the Community
    • Part 6: Mysteries, Adventures and Indian Legends
    • Part 7: Arts, Crafts and Recreation
    • Part 8: Agriculture
    • Part 9: Church Histories
    • Part 10: Schools
    • Part 11: Health Care
    • Part 12: Industries and Enterprises
    • Part 13: Policing the Peace
    • Part 14: Pouce Coupe, Rolla, and Other South Peace Communities
    • Part 15: Chetwynd and the Fort St. John Area
    • Part 16: The Alberta Peace
    • Part 17: Natural History of the Peace River Region
    • Part 18: Interviews with Old Timers
    • Part 19: Remembering Our Veterans

  •  

BN08-32: Western Canada’s Largest Sheep Sale is in Dawson Creek

Recent History – 1999

Sept. 2, 1999

By Kate O’Neill for the Peace River Block News

Peace region sheep producers are gearing up for their annual fall sale. Last year’s record sale of 5,200 sheep was the biggest sale in Western Canada, so local producers have their work cut out for them if they want to surpass that result.

To avoid congestion at the sixth annual sheep Sale, at the Peace Country Livestock Auction in Dawson Creek, Sept. 18, some of the sheep won’t be actually present at the auction. Large lots of sheep will be video-taped and weighed by Alberta sheep specialist Trevor Jones beforehand and buyers can bid on it this way. This will also save shipping costs for the producers, especially those who have to travel farther to the auction.

Another new event at the sale will be a competition pen of five ewe lambs. These are first-time lambers and meant for the experienced breeder. Another pen of five mature ewes will provide an opportunity for beginners interested in raising lambs for the first time.

The rule is, they have to be sold. First prize is $500, second prize is $200 and third prize is $100.

There’s no doubt the industry has been growing, says event organizer Nancy Peterson. In the past, producers didn’t have a market for everything, but now numbers have increased, a large portion of the B.C. Peace sheep is being sold to buyers who take them and fatten them for sale to other markets.

“You need to be where buyers and processors are in order to access the market directly,” Peterson says. “We’re still a long way from the markets and freight is expensive. A lot of the buyers have markets we don’t.”

The annual sheep sale was started six years ago to provide small producers with a market for their lambs. Depending on each producer’s lambing schedule, there are many who will have sold their lambs before September and the larger producers with 500 to 700 head contact the buyers directly.

Last year’s sale drew buyers from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and Peterson says more buyers makes competition even keener.

Even though it’s the largest sale in Western Canada, Peterson says, it’s still a friendly event because the local producers volunteer at the sale to do everything except the auctioning itself. This also puts a considerable amount of money back into the region instead of in commissions.

The sale is also the time to support local 4-H clubs by buying a lamb from them.

This article is taken from the Peace River Block Daily News, Dawson Creek, with the permission of the publisher. The Daily News retains all rights relating to this material. The information in this article is intended solely for research or general interest purposes.

« BN08-31: Early Harvest Results Below Average

BN08-33: Evans Extends Farm Insurance Program »

© 2023 South Peace Historical Society. All Rights Reserved.