Overview

Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS.

As of July 1, 2009, U.S. farms had nearly 7.05 million sheep and lambs. The U.S. sheep inventory peaked in 1942 with 56 million head. About 80 percent of the sheep produced in the United States are sold as lambs. The top sheep and lamb producing states are California, Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota.

The United States processed 2.56 million sheep in 2008. About 94 percent were processed in the 496 federally inspected sheep slaughter facilities. These facilities are heavily concentrated. More than 80 percent of the sheep were processed in plants that slaughter over 100,000 per year. Significant sheep and lamb processing states are Colorado and Iowa.  January 2010 ... Commodity Lamb
 

Marketing

• American Sheep Industry Association
• Animal Product Markets in 2005 and Forecasts for 2006, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA, 2006. 
  
• Lamb Marketing Patterns in the United States, 2000, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA, 2003 - Data from 22 sheep production states was collected by USDA's National Animal Health Monitoring System.
• Livestock & Meat Trade Data, ERS, USDA.
• Livestock, Dairy & Poultry Outlook, ERS, USDA.
• Sheep and Wool, ERS, USDA.
• Sheep & Goat Marketing Page, Susan Schoenian, University of Maryland Cooperative Extension - This site lists links to market sources, lamb and wool markets, live and carcass grading, and food safety tips.
  

Processing/Manufacturing

• Direct and Local Meat Marketing, Decision Aids to Determine Budgets and Carcass Yields of Lamb,  University of Kentucky - These online tools enable producers to calculate costs and potential carcass yields.
• Focus on: Lamb From Farm to Table, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA, 2003.
• Food Labeling Procedures, FSIS, USDA.
• Grading, Certification and Verification for Lamb, USDA.
• Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications for Fresh Lamb and Mutton, USDA.
• Selling Meat and Meat Products, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California - Federal, state or local agency inspection is mandatory for any meat or meat product before it can be sold. This publication explains various product categories, tells which inspection each one requires and includes links to regulatory references and other useful resources.

Production

• Handbook for Raising Small Numbers of Sheep, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, 2002, $8 - This handbook covers management, reproduction, nutrition, health and wool quality. It includes general tips on feeding and facilities. Visit the online catalog to order.
• Illini SheepNet and Meat GoatNet, University of Illinois - The online resource for the sheep industry.
• An Illustrated Guide to Sheep and Goat Production, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), 2008 - This 20-page, basic and heavily graphic introduction to sheep and goat production discusses animal selection, feeding, breeding and young stock, equipment and handling, and marketing. Also available in Hmong.
• Lamb Marketing, Sheep 101, Susan Schoenian, University of Maryland Extension - This site reviews the basics in U.S. lamb marketing.
• Off-season and Holiday Lamb Production, Penn State University, 1994 - This site provides management and marketing information and a sample budget for off-season and holiday lambs.
• Sheep and Goat Fund, National Livestock Producers Association - A revolving fund for sheep and goat businesses to further the development of value-added products.
• Sheep Economic Budgets, Maryland Small Ruminant Page.
• Sheep Enterprise Budget, Sheep 101, Susan Schoenian, University of Maryland Extension - This explains components of a budget, provides an Excel spreadsheet to create your own budget, plus has links to university sources for budgets. 
• Small Ruminant Project, West Virginia University - This program is helping producers implement out-of-season breeding and lambing programs to increase market flexibility and potential domestic marketing opportunities.
• Sustainable Sheep Production, ATTRA, NCAT, 2000 - This online document covers grazing, lambing, alternative health management and innovative marketing ideas.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Changes in the Sheep Industry in the United States: Making the Transition from Tradition, Board of Agriculture & Natural Resources, The National Academies Press, 2008 - This book examines the current and future opportunities and challenges of the U.S. sheep industry.
• Contemporary Producer-Owned Lamb Processing Ventures: Lessons Learned, USDA Rural Development, 1999 - This case study evaluates two producer-owned ventures: American Lamb Producers, Inc. and Virginia Lamb Cooperative. Both businesses closed in less than 1.5 years.
• Cory Value-Added Business Synopsis, Elkhart, Iowa, 2002 - Lamb producers who capitalize on ethnic populations.
• Dakota Lamb Growers Cooperative, Hettinger, North Dakota - This cooperative was started in 1999 to market lamb meat to consumers. Soon after the company formed, they switched gears and went from marketing commercial lamb to natural lamb to differentiate themselves from other companies.
• Mountain States Lamb Cooperative: Vertical Integration into Lamb Processing, Kansas State University, 2005 - This case study outlines the role the cooperative played in shaping the future of the sheep industry for its members.
• Sheep, The New American Farmer, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), USDA - Describes five sheep operations located throughout the United States.
  

Links checked January 2010.