Adding Value & Product Diversification

Jennifer Cunningham, Jay Springs Lamb Co., Pinantan Lake, BC

Outline

Who we are What we have and have access to Who is our customer What do they want in a product

Who we are

The Grazing Crew

Management of farm & woodlot

together!

What we focused on ……got off the farm and learned

Focused on the resources & assets we hadWe had a broad vision of what we wantedConcentrated on productionFormed a legal partnershipKept improving the ranch – bookkeeping,

management of woodlot and grazing Complete estate planning

….got off the farm and learned, got involved

SWOTStrength Weakness Opportunity Threats

Family Family Grass, browse Mother Nature

Industry Knowledge

Hay Source Grazing tenure Lack of capital

Education Mother Nature Established Regulations

Flexible Time Niche marketing Liability

Location Location Present trends Meat Processing

Connections to the land

Land Woodlot – sustainable land base, landscape

Higher level plans

Established Flock

Commodity product

Past experience Lack of Gov. Support

Our mission statement: Our want of a sustainable life style motivates our business.

Our main goal: Develop a viable operation selling and producing lambs to a market that will support a small-scale sustainable farm.

Woodlot license 311 will be a viable and sustainable operation meeting the family partner’s social, financial and environmental objectives.

What we focused on ……got off the farm and learnedBusiness Focus

Needed to create business opportunities that would make the ranch and woodlot work for us and ensure financial viability and diversity.

But, each lamb has to sell for more and we have to diversify the land base resource for the long term.

Who eats our lamb?

Thinking like a customer not a producer.80% of our time on planning, marketing, on the phone & 20% spent on ranching Knowing the 3 parts of a business – production, financial and marketing.

We had a lamb that fit all markets!

Competitive Advantage

Selling our lamb! Selling our story!