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Sheep are raised for both meat (lamb or mutton) and
wool. The U.S. sheep and wool industries have seen significant
change since the mid-1970s, marked by smaller inventories,
declining production, shrinking revenues, and fewer operations.
Historically, lamb and mutton were viewed as byproducts
of wool production, even though wool receipts accounted
for a smaller share of revenue. As wool revenues have
declined, producers have turned their attention to lamb
and mutton production and the possibility of other byproducts
such as sheep leather.
Inventory data on U.S. sheep began in 1867, when there
were approximately 45 million sheep in the United States.
Sheep numbers peaked in 1884 at 51 million head. Since
then, numbers have declined to almost 6.0 million
head. The number of sheep operations has declined as
well.
Since the 1990s, sheep operations have dropped from more
than 106,000 to about 70,000, as producers experienced
shrinking revenues and low rates of return.
Sheep producers range in size from those with small flocks
to large western operations. Two types of enterprises
exist: stock-sheep production and lamb feeding. Stock-sheep
producers manage grazing flocks on pasture and range
forage, often on arid western lands with few alternative
uses. Stock-sheep producers sell lambs that are either
slaughtered or placed in feedlots. Feeder lambs are raised
on forage until they are around 60-80 pounds, then placed
in feedlots to be fattened and finished for slaughter.
Although the sheep industry accounts for less than 1
percent of U.S. livestock industry receipts, sheep operations
are important to the economies of several States. More
than two-thirds of U.S. operations are located in the
Southern Plains, Mountain, and Pacific regions, and the
regional distribution has remained fairly constant since
the early 1900s. Texas is the largest sheep producing
State, followed by California.
Attempts to diversify sheep production have sparked increased
interest in hair sheep production. Hair sheep have high
parasite resistance and low heat stress and are known
to provide multiple lambing possibilities. Apart from
the ability of hair sheep to produce lamb and mutton,
their leather is a viable source of revenue.
The U.S. market for lamb and mutton has weakened throughout
the decades. Since the 1960s, per capita consumption
has dropped from nearly 5 pounds to just over 1 pound.
This is due in part to declining acceptance of lamb from
a growing segment of the population, as well as competition
from other meats, such as poultry, pork, and beef. Most
meat is sold as lamb and comes from animals under 14
months old. Mutton comes from older animals and is often
less expensive but less desirable to consumers. U.S.
lamb consumers prefer high-quality cuts such as legs
and loins. Some of the lower quality, less desirable
cuts go to the pet-food industry or are exported.
The Northeast, with its high concentrations of Middle
Eastern, Caribbean, and African consumers, is a major
market for lamb products. The typical lamb consumer is
an older, relatively well-established ethnic individual
who lives in a metropolitan area like New York, Boston,
or Philadelphia in the Northeast or San Francisco or
Los Angeles on the West Coast, and who prefers to eat
only certain lamb cuts. In contrast, beef, pork, and
poultry buyers tend to be geographically dispersed, younger,
and less ethnically oriented and to buy a wider variety
of cuts.
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