Sheep & Goat Inventory Down 1%
The Sheep & Lamb Inventory on January 1, 2018, totaled 5.31 million head, down slightly from 2017. The breeding sheep inventory was 3.83 million head on January 1, 1% lower than 2017. Ewes one year of age and older were also down 1%. Market sheep totaled 1.4 million head, up 2% from 2017.
The 2017 lamb crop of 3.2 million head was down 2% from 2016. The 2017 lambing rate was 105 lambs per ewe one year and older on January 1, 2017. It was unchanged from 2016.
Shorn wool production in the United States during 2017 was 24.7 million pounds, down 5% from 2016. Four percent fewer sheep and lambs were shorn in 2017, as compared to 2016. The average price paid for wool in 2017 was $1.47 per pound. The total value of US wool production in 2017 was $36.4 million, 3% less than 2016.
Sheep death loss in 2017 totaled 213,000 head. Lamb death loss was 367,000 head.
Goats The Goat and Kid Inventory on January 1, 2018, totaled 2.62 million head, 1% less than 2017. The breeding goat inventory was 2.16 million head, down slightly from 2017. There were 1.6 million does one year of age or older on January 1, a slight decrease from 2017.
On January 1, 2018, there were 457,000 market goats on hand, a 2% decline from 2017. The 2017 kid crop totaled 1.64 million head, down slightly from 2017. The meat and other goat inventory totaled 2.10 million head on January 1, a 1% decrease from 2017. The milk goat inventory was 380,000 head, up 2% from 2017. The Angora inventory declined another 7% to 142,000 head.
Mohair production in the US in 2017 was 725,000 pounds. 133,000 head were shorn. The average weight per clip was 5.5 lbs. The average price paid for mohair in 2017 was $5.00 per pound. The total value of mohair production in the US was $3.52 million.
