COLLEGE STATION, Texas (RFD News) — The lamb market continues receiving support from tighter supplies and stronger prices, according to Texas A&M University livestock economist David Anderson.
Anderson says lamb and mutton production has fallen sharply this year, particularly since March, as fewer animals are reaching market and many are being sold at lighter weights.
“We have lamb and mutton together. I think the thing we want to highlight is, if we look at production so far this year, particularly since March, we’ve had a sharp decline in production. In fact, we, you know, weeks compared to the same week a year ago, in fact, more than 10% decline in production. And that’s supporting our prices. We’ve got some higher prices for live lambs really across the board, whether it’s lightweight or heavyweight. This tighter supplies is a big reason why. So we’re producing less. Not only are fewer going to market of these lambs, but also they’re weighing less. We’ve had some 10% or better declines in dressed weights and fewer lambs going to market. We’ve got a lot less production going on.”
Anderson says recent rainfall in parts of Texas could help support future flock numbers by improving forage conditions and encouraging expansion.
He also notes sheep and goats are finding additional uses beyond traditional meat production, creating new opportunities for producers.
“Rain is a good thing. We’ve got more rain in parts of Texas that’s helping, high prices are the signal to produce more of it. We’ve got that going on in our favor in terms of supporting numbers in the future. There’s also other uses as well. We’ve you guys have certainly highlighted grazing in solar panel areas. Weed control and brush control and roads, roadwork and land use and things like that that are supporting some numbers as well.”
Anderson says more operations are finding ways to utilize sheep and goats in areas such as solar grazing, weed control and brush management, helping create additional demand beyond traditional markets.
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