It has been a very busy summer, fencing new pastures, building new corrals, working on the barn, putting up hay, etc.

I’m really excited about this past weekend, when I took the Sheep Cervical AI course at Lakeland College in Vermilion, AB.
It enables us as producers, to cervically AI our own sheep, which gives us a low cost alternative to laparoscopic AI.
It will allow us to control breeding synchronization independently of veterinary availability and scheduling constraints.
It gives us the opportunity to use more widely diverse genetics, including those from other countries that we can import from.
Thanks to:
- Dr. Phil Purdy (USDA) and Dr. Carl Lessard, curator of CAGR, who taught, demonstrated and coached us through the procedure.
- Jason Cooper who saw the need for a course like this and organized it.
- the SSDB and ADOPT for sponsoring it.

Review before hands-on practice.

Lakeland Sheep Cervical AI participants and instructors.

Sheep Cervical AI kit

We will be shearing our flock today and tomorrow.
If you would like a raw fleece, send me an email with what kind you would like to mcdermitranch@gmail.com
Here is what we will have:
Scotch Mule (Bluefaced Leicester x Blackface) – $15/lb
Dorset Mule (Bluefaced Leicester x Dorset) – $15/lb
Dorset – $10/lb
Texel  - $10/lb  SOLD OUT
Blackface – $5/lb  SOLD OUT
The fleeces will be skirted and will have some vm (hay) as they are not coated.
Whole fleeces and 1 pound samples available. Whole fleeces will range from 2 to 5 lbs. Staple length will be 3 – 6 inches depending on the breed.
Local pick up or shipping via Canada Post which costs approximately $15-$25 depending on the weight and destination.
E-transfer (preferred) or Paypal accepted.
The photos below are an example of a Dorset Mule first year fleece.

February and early March were busy months when we lambed out 162 commercial ewes.
Now we have a break until the first of May.
Our shearing days are scheduled for April 7 – 8.

Happy Valentine’s Day, 2017!

Our “Yin Yang” lamb. The first lamb we have had with markings like this.

Off to feed the sheep.

Wow!  We are already nearing the end of January!
We had a two week cold spell in which we lambed out 50 purebred Dorset ewes that were bred to Briar Glen 100B.  His lambs are looking very promising!  If you would like to get your name on the list for a ram lamb, contact us by email at mcdermitranch@gmail.com.
We hope to consign to the 2017 All Canada Sheep Classic in Red Deer, AB the July long weekend, as well as the Grasslands Sheep Exhibition at Humboldt, SK in July.

Here are a few photos from the last few weeks.

The flock of 760 waiting to be sorted into breeding groups in December.

Leading the Dorset ewes with a bale on the Haybuster.

Blackface, Scotch Mule and Dorset ewes standing at the gate.

Blackface and Scotch Mule faces.

Congratulations to Furze Farms, Jo and Teresa Walker, who won Supreme Ram at the 2016 SSBA Sheep Show at Canadian Western Agribition  in Regina, Saskatchewan!
The 10 month old ram lamb was sired by McDermit 41A, a ram that they purchased from us.  It is nice to see our breeding stock working well for other producers.

Dorset Champion & Supreme Ram at 2016 Agribition

We had a beautiful, LONG fall this year.  Here are a few recent photos from around the ranch.

Our five mature Blackface rams decided to pose the other day and I happened to have my iphone camera handy.

This is our profile page that we have on the Saskatchewan Sheep Breeders’ Association website.