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SHEEP & LAMBS

KANSAS AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE
Kansas Department of Agriculture
PO Box 3534
Topeka, KS 66601-3534
Phone: 785-233-2230

Released: January 26, 2001

SHEEP AND LAMB INVENTORY

KANSAS: All sheep and lamb inventory in Kansas on January 1, 2001 totaled 110,000 head (see table 1), up 5 percent from last year. An increase in breeding sheep more than offset the slight decline in market lamb numbers.

Breeding sheep inventory, at 71,000 head, was 9 percent above the January 1, 2000 inventory. The inventory of ewes one year and older, at 58,000 head, was up 12 percent from last year. The inventory of rams 1 year old and older, at 4,000 head, was unchanged from the previous year. Replacement lambs totaled 9,000 head, unchanged from last year.

The 2000 lamb crop, at 72,000 head, was up 14 percent from 1999 (see table 2). The 2000 lambing rate was 138 per 100 ewes 1 year old and older on hand January 1, 2000, compared with a lambing rate of 111 in 1999. The number of operations with sheep in 2000 totaled 1,500, unchanged from 1999.

Market sheep and lambs on January 1, 2001 totaled 36,000 head (see table 3). Of these, 16,000 were under 65 pounds, 6,000 weighed 65-84 pounds, 10,000 weighed 85-105 pounds, 4,000 weighed over 105 pounds, and 3,000 were market sheep.

UNITED STATES: All sheep and lamb inventory in the United States on January 1, 2001, totaled 6.92 million head, down 2 percent from 2000 and 4 percent below two years ago. The inventory has trended down since 1942 when it reached a peak of 56.2 million head.

Breeding sheep inventory declined to 4.93 million head on January 1, 2001, down 5 percent from January 1, 2000's 5.16 million head. Ewes one year old and older, at 4.06 million head, were 4 percent below last year.

The 2000 lamb crop of 4.62 million head was down 2 percent from 1999 to a new record low. The 2000 lambing rate was 109 per 100 ewes one year old and older on January 1, 2000, compared with 110 in 1999.

Market sheep and lambs on January 1, 2001, totaled 1.99 million head, up 6 percent from January 1, 2000. Market lambs comprised 96 percent of the total. Twenty-four percent were lambs under 65 pounds, 18 percent were 65 - 84 pounds, 24 percent 85 - 105 pounds, 30 percent were over 105 pounds, and 4 percent were market sheep.

The number of operations with sheep during 2000 totaled 66,000, down 1 percent from 1999 and 4 percent from 1998.

Sheep inventory value and value per head for Kansas and the U.S. will be published in the prices report on February 28, 2001

Table 1-- SHEEP AND LAMBS ON FARMS BY CLASSES, JANUARY 1
Class Kansas United States
1999 2000 2001 % of 2000 1999 2000 2001 % of 2000
- - - 1,000 Head - - - Percent - - - 1,000 Head - - - Percent
All Sheep & Lambs 100 105 110 105 7,215 7,032 6,915 98
Market 30 40 39 98 1,916 1,868 1,988 106
Breeding Sheep & Lambs
    Replacement Lambs under 1 Year Old
9
9
9
100
774
730
665
91
    Ewes 1 Yr. & Older 57 52 58 112 4,322 4,229 4,061 96
    Rams 1 Yr. & Older 4 4 4 100 203 206 201 98

Table 2-- KANSAS AND UNITED STATES LAMB CROP
Year Kansas United States
Breeding Ewes 1 Yr.+, Jan. 1 Lambs Saved per 100 Ewes 1+, Jan. 1 Lamb
Crop 		Breeding Ewes 1 Yr.+, Jan. 1 Lambs Saved per 100
Ewes 1+, Jan. 1 		Lamb
Crop
1,000 Number - - - 1,000 - - - Number 1,000
1995 87 115 100 5,403.6 104 5,643 .2
1996 90 100 90 5,134.3 104 5,361 .3
1997 84 101 85 4,911.6 109 5,356 .3
1998 66 106 70 4,569.5 110 5,007 .0
1999 57 111 63 4,322.0 110 4,733 .0
2000 52 138 72 4,229.0 109 4,622 .0

Table 3-- MARKET SHEEP & LAMBS: NUMBER BY WEIGHT GROUP, JANUARY 1
Item Kansas United States
2000 2001 % of 2000 2000 2001 % of 2000
1,000 Head Percent 1,000 Head Percent
Market Lambs
Under 65 Lbs.
 14 .0 16 .0 114 452 .2 475 .6 105
65-84 Lbs.
 5 .0 6 .0 120 313 .2 354 .4 113
85-105 Lbs.
 13 .0 10 .0 77 480 .2 482 .3 100
105 Lbs. +
 5 .0 4 .0 80 541 .9 599 .2 111
    Total
 		37 .0 36 .0 97 1,787 .5 1,911 .5 107
Market Sheep
 3 .0 3 .0 100 80 .5 76 .5 95
Total Market Sheep & Lambs
 		40 .0 39 .0 98 1,868 .0 1,988 .0 106


WOOL PRODUCTION

Kansas shorn wool production during 2000 (see table 4) was 655,000 pounds, up 1 percent from a year earlier. Sheep shorn, at 99,000 head, showed a 6 percent increase from 1999. Average fleece weight from shorn wool was 6.6 pounds per head, down 6 percent from 1999. The average price paid for wool sold in 2000 was $0.17 per pound, down 2 cents from 1999. Total value of shorn wool was $111,000, down 10 percent from 1999. U.S. shorn wool production during 2000 was 46.4 million pounds, down slightly from 1999. Sheep and lambs shorn totaled 6.14 million head, slightly down from 1999. The average price paid for wool sold in 2000 was 33 cents per pound for a total value of $15.5 million, down 13 percent from $17.9 million in 1999.


Table 4-- WOOL PRODUCTION AND VALUE
Year Sheep Shorn 1/ Weight per Fleece Shorn Wool Production Price per Pound Value
1,000 Head Pounds 1,000 Pounds Dollars 1,000 Dol.
Kansas
1999 93 7.0 650 0.19 124
2000 99 6.6 655 0.17 111
United States
1999 6,158 .0 7.6 46,592 0.38 17,860
2000 6,140 .0 7.6 46,446 0.33 15,377
1/ Includes shearing at commercial feedyards.


Doug Hartwig & Quentin Wearne, Agricultural Statisticians
Eldon J. Thiessen, State Statistician
Eddie Wells, Deputy State Statistician

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