March 13, 2006

US sheep and lamb inventory rises

USDA reported that US sheep and lamb inventory reached 6.23 million head on Jan 1, 2006, an increase of 2 percent from both 2005 and 2004. USDA said the inventory started increasing in 2005.

However, the inventory of market sheep and lambs on Jan 1, 2006 was 1.59 million head, a decline of 1 percent from Jan 1, 2005.

In 2005, the lamb crop reached 4.13 million head, an increase of 1 percent from 2004. For 2005, the lambing rate was 115 lambs per 100 ewes of one-year-old and older on Jan 1, 2005. This was an increase of 2 percent from 2004.

Similarly, breeding sheep inventory rose by 2 percent to 4.64 million head on Jan 1, 2006. The number of ewes one-year-old and older reached 3.66 million head on Jan 1, 2006, an increase of 2 percent from last year.