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TuesdayFebruary17201521INDUSTRYAGRICULTUREBridgestoneBlizzakMichelinX-IceNokianR2TIRENORTHLTD.917MacKenzieHwySS22HayRiverNTX0E0R8Callusat867874-2686GREATSAVINGSONALLTIRESTHATHAVEBEENTAKENOFFBRANDNEWTRUCKS-BUTHAVENEVEREVENSEENTHEROADTAKEOFFEHGreatWhiteNorthByMEAGANWOHLBERGAnewbabyheifersteamsunderheatlampsinthestrawashermomlickshernoseandearscleanjustminutesafterbecomingtherstcalfbornatHayRiversNorthernFarmTrain-ingInstituteNFTIlastMondaymorning.Thecalf-whosenameisnowthesubjectofalocalcontest-broughtthecattlecountuptothreebutthattallygrewagainovertheweekendasasecondmassivelypreg-nantcowgavebirthtoalittlebullcousinonSundaymorning.TheyreclearlythrivinghereonlocalhaytheyrehealthyandfertilesowerereallyhappytobeabletohaveacouplecowsthatareadaptedalreadytotheareaNFTIpresi-dentJackieMilnesaidofthewoolyGallowayDexter-crossanimalstheinstituterecentlyinheritedfromalocalfarmerinordertosup-plylessonstostudentsonanimalhusbandryalongwithdairyproducts.Itmightbeatadprematuretocallthegrowingfamilyanofcialherdbutastheblossomingfarmschoolcontemplatesadd-ingsheeppigsandreindeertothemixoverthenextfewyearsitsclearthenewcalvesarejustthestartofagrowingNorthernlive-stockventurequiteunlikeanyotherintheNWT-onefullyfoundedinfoodproduction.Whenitcomestofoodsecuritysome-thingthatsreallyimportanttoaddintotheequationisyourtotalcalorieneedsMilnesaid.Alotofthefoodswegrowinthegar-denarenotcalorie-densefoodstheyremoreofyouressentialmineralandvitaminfoods.Sogettingenoughcaloriestoeat-ofqualitycaloriesnotjustemptysugar-inourarea...weturntoanimalproducts.Sightssetonforest-grazingsheepWithasmallherdofcattleonthegoNFTIhasnowturneditsattentiontoawoollierspe-ciesonethatMilnesaidshowshighvalueintermsoffoodsovereignty.SheeparearareanimalinthattheycanbetriplepurposeyoucanofcoursehavemeatyoucanhavewoolandyoucanalsohavedairybasedonsheepMilnesaid.Sobecauseofthatwerereallywantingtoresearchaheadoftimethemostappropriatebreedsforourareabecausewethinkthatcouldbeastapleanimalhere.UnlikecattleMilnesaidsheepareeasiertoraiseintheNWTbecausetheyaresmallerbetteratwinteringandhaveamoreexibledietthatcantakethemintoforestedareasratherthanclearedpastureland.TheyreofcourseaherbivorelikeacowbuttheyremoreofabrowserMilnesaid.Likedeerandgoatsthoseanimalscaneatawidervarietyofvegetationthanacow.Cowsare90percentgrasswhereaswithsheepdeerandreindeeritcouldbeathirdgrassathirdleavesfromedibletreeslikewillowsandtheremain-dercouldbereweeddandelions-adiverserangewhichissomethingwehave.Thevegeta-tionwenaturallyhavehereisidealforsheep.LastweekaspecialguestvisitedthefarmschooltogiverecommendationsonpotentialbreedsthatcouldthriveintheNorthaswellaslessonsfromhisworkemployingsheepinsilvicultureorthepracticeofmanaginghealthyforestgrowthinB.C.DennisLoxtonsharedhis20yearsofex-periencebeingcontractedbyloggingcom-paniestopasturesheepinreplantedforestsintheheartofgrizzlybearcountrywiththehelpoflargeguardiandogs.Indelicateecologicalareaslikearoundriversandinparksandprotectedareastheywouldhirehimtobringinhissheeptohelpwithre-vegetationMilnesaid.MilnesaidasimilarapproachcouldbeusedintheNWTwheresheepcouldhelptoregenerateforestsafterwildresorlogging.LastweeksheandLoxtonmetwithofcialswiththeterritorialgovernmenttogetasenseoftheforestinventoryanddiscussthepos-sibilityofcombiningagriculturewithforestmanagement.WemightgetapelletmillonedaysowhatareouroptionsWouldntitbecoolifwecouldproducefoodinalong-termsustainablewayandhavetheimpactofthesheepbeanac-celeratedgrowthoftheforestOncetheyhavetheirsheepNFTIisgoingtoexperimentwithforestthinningattheirsitetoseejusthowmuchspaceandwhatkindsofvegetationtheanimalsneedtothrive.Weretryingtoseewhatisawaytorapidlycreateanenvironmentthatcansupportani-malswithoutdrasticalterationtotheland-scape.ItsalotofworktoclearaforestandtransitionittoaperennialpastureMilnesaid.RealisticallythefoodsystemsweneedintheNortharegoingtobeveryuniqueandwhatwehavealotofisforestssohowdoweusethemandkeepthemhealthySchoolalsoconsideringreindeerpigsThesamelogicappliestoreindeerwhichNFTIisalsolookingatincorporatingintothecampusonedayasawhollydomesticherd.ThoughmoreresearchneedstobedoneMilnesuspectsthesheepandreindeerwillsupportoneanothershealth.WhatLoxtondiscoveredwiththesheepwasthatinsomeareastheyactuallycompli-mentedandbecauseoftheirinuenceontheterrainactuallystimulatedvegetationthatsupportedthewildlifebetterMilnesaid.Sheepcattlereindeersomeanimalscanbeherdedtogetherandsomecanbeherdedinsequencesothisistheotherthingwewanttodoresearchon.Thesameistrueofpigswhicharenatu-rallyforest-dwellingcreaturesMilnesaid.NFTIcurrentlyhasthreepigsandishopingtobreedmoretoincorporateintopastureandforestmanagementbasedontheirproclivityforrootingintheground.Wehavea40-50acrespotwearelook-ingatforpasturewherewewanttomaybedotrialsforgrowinghardygrainsMilnesaid.Somaybethepigscouldbepartofthat.HerdmentalityHayRiverfarmschoollookstolivestockCowssheeppigsandreindeerallpartofNFTIsholisticagplanPhotocourtesyofNFTIAthick-coatedGalloway-DextercowsniffsoutitsnewownerattheNorthernFarmTrainingInstituteinHayRiverwherethetallyofcattlerecentlyrosetofourthankstosomenewcalves.