"We added a few every year," says manager and partner Chris Kennedy, explaining how the farm grew to 1,200 ewes and 2,200 lambs. About 1,000 acres are used for hay and grazing.

At one time Amherst Island had farms from shore line to shore line. But now the waterfront is peopled with cottagers and retirees, and only 11 farms are operating.

For Chris Kennedy, the island was a piece of paradise and opportunity. He was born and brought up in a sheep farming district, where only the gentry own sheep farms. "I could never have afforded to farm (in Britain)," he says.

Topsy has become one of the largest sheep farms in Ontario, where commercial operations, to become profitable, are aiming for the gourmet market. Ontario has a record number of sheep flocks, a 46 per increase since 1996, but many aren’t profitable. The average census farm in Ontario lost about $5,500 in 2001. Kennedy, vice chair of the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency says this is "a huge problem."

He says he’s pleased to have the part-timers with a dozen or so ewes. However, the key to success in the sheep industry is "Do things when they need to be done. Stay in season for every thing."

There’s a time to make hay, a time to de-worm, and a time to shear the sheep. Education is a major part of making money, but few of the new people want to pay to take courses and the sheep agency doesn’t have the money to support the courses.

Low prices this summer will thin the ranks, he says, pointing out that this is the third time prices have dropped like this since 1974. "You need some luck,"he says. If you borrowed for a lot of sheep last summer, you’ll lose money. "I expect this. I’m in it for the long haul." Ontario has about 50 large flock operators, farms that market 800 or more lambs per year.

Ontario lamb will make their mark as a "gourmet meat," he believes, though there is currently a market for everything, including older sheep or World War Two mutton which has harmed the sheep image for decades. The sheep go to what he calls the Caribbean trade.

About 80 per cent of the lamb that’s produced in Ontario goes on to Toronto, where it must battle against a half century old negative image and New Zealand lamb. Still, demand outstrips supply. However the industry just doesn’t produce enough to meet the demands of the large chains, especially in winter months.

Over the past few years, the sheep agency has gone a long way in developing the gourmet market. It has moved the product into the Holly Lane grocery chain and has been developing quality breeding stock.

Topsy Farm has 120 customers for its "cut and wrap" trade. Many of the lambs go to auction at Cookstown. The farm has a commercial herd which uses a Rideau Arcott, developed by the Ottawa Research station, and a Dorset cross as the basic ewe. A variety of terminal sires are used, including Suffolk, Texels and Cheviots. The Texels are a Danish meat breed.

Kennedy’s greatest pleasure as a shepherd is eating lamb. He loves it. His biggest headache is his competitor, the wily coyote, who also loves the taste. He has nine Maremma guard dogs and electric fences to keep them out. But every year the coyotes get through the barriers. The conventional wisdom that coyotes only kill what they need to eat is untrue, he says. He’s seen predators return day after day and kill again and again.

After the ground freezes over in fall, he rolls 1,000-lbs. round bales on to the pastures. He grazes the sheep until March or until the pastures start to become soft, and sheep could start punching holes in it.