While the sheep flock across Canada has declined by almost five per cent over the past five years, it's quite the opposite in Manitoba.

According to the 2016 Census of Agriculture, our province has seen an increase of over 43 per cent since 2011, with the total number of animals now exceeding 90,000. This was the largest increase in Canada.

Jonathon Nichol, chair of the Manitoba Sheep Association, raises about 70 ewes north of Darlingford.

He explores some of the possible reasons for the increase.

"The market is strong, or at least more consistent than a lot of other markets out there, so there's growth that way," said Nichol. "We have a few producers that are growing exceptionally fast which goes a long way to doing it. There's an awful lot of opportunity within the sheep industry as it's one of our few commodities that's an import market rather than an export market."

Nichol notes the startup capital for sheep is not as intensive as other livestock, adding the industry has been consistently profitable over the last few years.

He adds there are about 500 sheep producers in the province, many of which raise sheep as a hobby or side occupation.