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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: February 1, 2002

SHEEP AND LAMB INVENTORY

KANSAS: All sheep and lamb inventory in Kansas on January 1, 2002 totaled 100,000 head (see table 1), down 9 percent from last year. Breeding ewes at least a year old decreased 5,000 head, while total market animals dropped by 4,000.

Breeding sheep inventory, at 65,000 head, was 8 percent below the January 1, 2001 inventory. The inventory of ewes one year and older, at 53,000 head, was down 9 percent from last year. The inventory of rams 1 year old and older, at 3,000 head, was down 1,000 from the previous year. Replacement lambs totaled 9,000 head, unchanged from last year.

The 2001 lamb crop, was 72,000 head, unchanged from 2000 (see table 2). The 2001 lambing rate was 124 per 100
ewes 1 year old and older on hand January 1, 2001, compared with a lambing rate of 138 in 2000. The number of operations with sheep in 2001 totaled 1,500, unchanged from 2000.

Market sheep and lambs on January 1, 2002 totaled 35,000 head (see table 3). Of these, 13,000 were under 65 pounds, 4,000 weighed 65-84 pounds, 7,000 weighed 85-105 pounds, 7,000 weighed over 105 pounds, and 4,000 were market sheep.

UNITED STATES: All sheep and lamb inventory in the United States on January 1, 2002, totaled 6.69 million head, down 4 percent from 2001 and 5 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 4.91 million head on January 1, 2002, down 1 percent from 4.97 million head on January 1, 2001. Ewes one year old and older, at 3.98 million head, were 3 percent below last year.

The 2001 lamb crop of 4.50 million head was down 3 percent from 2000 and established a new record low. The 2001 lambing rate was 110 per 100 ewes one year old and older on January 1, 2001, compared with 109 in 2000.

Market sheep and lambs on January 1, 2002, totaled 1.77 million head, down 11 percent from January 1, 2001. Market lambs comprised 96 percent of the total. Twenty-five percent were lambs under 65 pounds, 17 percent were 65 - 84 pounds, 23 percent 85 - 105 pounds, 31 percent were over 105 pounds, and 4 percent were market sheep.

The number of operations with sheep during 2001 totaled 65,120, down 1 percent from 2000 and 3 percent from 1999.

Sheep inventory value and value per head for Kansas and the U.S. will be published in the prices report on February 28, 2002

Table 1-- SHEEP AND LAMBS ON FARMS BY CLASSES, JANUARY 1
Class Kansas United States
2000 2001 2002 % of 2001 2000 2001 2002 % of 2001
- - - 1,000 Head - - - Percent - - - 1,000 Head - - - Percent
All Sheep & Lambs 105 110 100 91 7,032 6,965 6,685 96
Market 40 39 35 90 1,868 1,998 1,772 89
Breeding Sheep & Lambs
    Replacement Lambs under 1 Year Old
9
9
9
100
730
675
734
109
    Ewes 1 Yr. & Older 52 58 53 91 4,229 4,091 3,980 97
    Rams 1 Yr. & Older 4 4 3 75 206 201 200 100

Table 2-- KANSAS AND UNITED STATES LAMB CROP
Year Kansas United States
Breeding Ewes
1 Yr.+, Jan. 1 		Lambs Saved per 100
Ewes 1 Yr.+, Jan. 1 		Lamb
Crop 		Breeding Ewes
1 Yr.+, Jan. 1 		Lambs Saved per 100
Ewes 1 Yr.+, Jan. 1 		Lamb
Crop
- - - 1,000 - - - Number - - - 1,000 - - - Number - - 1,000 - -
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
2001 58 124 72 4,091.0 110 4,495 .0
2002 53 -- -- 3,980.0 -- --

Table 3-- MARKET SHEEP & LAMBS: NUMBER BY WEIGHT GROUP, JANUARY 1
Item Kansas United States
2001 2002 % of 2001 2001 2002 % of 2001
1,000 Head Percent 1,000 Head Percent
Market Lambs
Under 65 Lbs.
 16 .0 13 .0 81 470 .6 435 .9 93
65-84 Lbs.
 6 .0 4 .0 67 359 .4 299 .9 83
85-105 Lbs.
 10 .0 7 .0 70 487 .3 415 .6 85
105 Lbs. +
 4 .0 7 .0 175 604 .2 549 .0 91
    Total
 		36 .0 31 .0 86 1,921 .5 1,700 .4 88
Market Sheep
 3 .0 4 .0 133 76 .5 71 .6 94
Total Market Sheep & Lambs
 		39 .0 35 .0 90 1,998 .0 1,772 .0 89


WOOL PRODUCTION

Kansas shorn wool production during 2001 was 575,000 pounds, down 12 percent from a year earlier (see table 4) . Sheep shorn, at 81,000 head, showed an 18 percent decrease from 2000. Average fleece weight from shorn wool was 7.1 pounds per head, up 8 percent from 2000. The average price paid for wool sold in 2001 was 20 cents per pound, up 3 cents from 2000. Total value of shorn wool was $115,000, up 4 percent from 2000. U.S. shorn wool production during 2001 was 43.0 million pounds, down 7 percent from 2000. Sheep and lambs shorn totaled 5.69 million head, down 7 percent from 2000. The average price paid for wool sold in 2001 was 36 cents per pound for a total value of $15.3 million, down slightly from $15.4 million in 2000.


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
2000 99 6.6 655 0.17 111
2001 81 7.1 575 0.20 115
United States
2000 6,135 .0 7.6 46,446 0.33 15,377
2001 5,689 .0 7.6 43,016 0.36 15,311
1/ Includes shearing at commercial feedyards.

Dave Ranek & Dona Ratliff, Agricultural Statisticians
Eldon J. Thiessen, State Statistician
Eddie Wells, Deputy State Statistician

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