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

Released: January 29, 1999
Press Release

KANSAS: All sheep and lamb inventory in Kansas on January 1, 1999 totaled 100,000 head (see table 1), down 17 percent from last year, according to Kansas Agricultural Statistics.

Breeding sheep inventory, at 70,000 head, was 12 percent below the January 1, 1998 inventory. The inventory of ewes one year and older, at 57,000 head, was down 14 percent from last year. The inventory of rams 1 year old and older, at 4,000 head, was down 20 percent from the previous year. Replacement lambs totaled 9,000 head, unchanged from last year.

Market sheep and lambs on January 1, 1999 totaled 30,000 head. Of these, 15,000 were under 65 pounds, 6,000 weighed 65-84 pounds, 5,000 weighed 85-105 pounds, 1,000 weighed over 105 pounds, and 3,000 were market sheep.

The 1998 lamb crop, at 70,000 head, was down 18 percent from 1997. The 1998 lambing rate was 106 per 100 ewes 1 year old and older on hand January 1, 1998, compared with a lambing rate of 101 in 1997. The number of operations with sheep in 1998 totaled 1,600, down 200 from 1997.

UNITED STATES: All sheep and lamb inventory in the United States on January 1, 1999, totaled 7.24 million head, down 8 percent from 1998 and 10 percent below two years ago. Inventory has declined since 1942 when it reached a peak of 56.2 million head.

Breeding sheep inventory declined to 5.31 million head on January 1, 1999, down 5 percent from January 1, 1998's 5.61 million head. Ewes one year old and older, at 4.34 million head, were 5 percent below last year.

Market sheep and lambs on January 1, 1999, totaled 1.92 million head, down 13 percent from January 1, 1998. Market lambs comprised 96 percent of the total. Twenty-six percent were lambs under 65 pounds, 17 percent were 65 - 84 pounds, 27 percent 85 - 105 pounds, 26 percent were over 105 pounds, and 4 percent were market sheep.

The 1998 lamb crop of 5.01 million head was down 6 percent from 1997. This compares with the previous record low of 5.36 million head set a year ago. The 1998 lambing rate was 110 per 100 ewes one year old and older on January 1, 1998, compared with 109 in 1997.

The number of operations with sheep during 1998 totaled 68,810, down 5 percent from 1997 and 10 percent from 1996.

Sheep inventory value and value per head for Kansas and the U.S. will be published in the prices report on February 26, 1999.

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	Lambs Saved	Breeding Ewes 1 Yr.+, Jan. 1	Lambs Saved per 100 Ewes 1+, Jan. 1	Lambs Saved
	1,000	Number	- - - 1,000 - - -		Number	1,000
1993	105	100	105	6,537.4	98	6,377 .1
1994	98	92	90	5,844.4	102	5,968 .2
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	5,013 .3

Table 3-- MARKET SHEEP & LAMBS: NUMBER BY WEIGHT GROUP, JANUARY 1
Item	Kansas			United States
	1998	1999	% of 1998	1998	1999	% of 1998
	1,000 Head		Percent	1,000 Head		Percent
Market Lambs
Under 65 Lbs.	17 .0	15 .0	88	530 .7	490 .0	92
65-84 Lbs.	7 .0	6 .0	86	346 .0	326 .5	94
85-105 Lbs.	10 .0	5 .0	50	635 .1	516 .7	81
105 Lbs. +	3 .0	1 .0	33	611 .3	507 .3	83
Total	37 .0	27 .0	73	2,123 .1	1,840 .5	87
Market Sheep	3 .0	3 .0	100	90 .8	82 .9	91
Total Market Sheep & Lambs	40 .0	30 .0	75	2,213 .9	1,923 .4	87

Ron Sitzman & Quentin Wearne, Agricultural Statisticians
Eldon J. Thiessen, State Statistician
Eddie Wells, Deputy State Statistician

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