Changes in the Sheep Industry in the United States Making the Transition from Tradition (2008) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Summary
Summary
Pages 1-14
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
Signs of the transition include the recent slowing of the long-term decline in inventories in many range sheep states and the modest growth in many farm flock states. Other signs of the industry's transition are the introduction of hair sheep, the growth in direct marketing, and the emergence of the dairy sheep industry.
|
From page 2... ...
Some of the more often cited factors are: • Labor loss during World War II; • A negative American G.I. experience with mutton during World War II; • Changes in regulations and permits for grazing on public lands and endangered species regulations; • Competition from other meats and other fibers; • Changes in consumer preferences; • Predation losses; • Loss of the National Wool Act and the Incentive Payment programs; • Foreign wool production subsidies; • Competition from imports along with an appreciation of the U.S.
|
From page 3... ...
Sheep Industry Most commercial sheep production in the United States consists of two types of operations. Range sheep operations are mostly in the western states and consist of relatively large flocks that graze native and unimproved pastureland.
|
From page 4... ...
Like other livestock industries, the major issues related to pricing are the market dominance of retailers, keen competition from other livestock meats, and concentration in feeding and packing. Unique features relating to live sheep pricing are the relatively low demand at the consumer end of the market, the relative importance of ethnic markets, the loss of a large portion of consumer demand to imports, and large losses to predators.
|
From page 5... ...
Challenges to sustainable growth and economic competitiveness include: • The sheep industry infrastructure suffers the consequences of decades of decline in volume; • Increasing predation problems in wildlife populations in many states indicate the need for sheep industry alliances to work closely with wildlife agencies and interest groups and with those involved with threatened and endangered species management programs; • Problems in pricing and price determination continue to plague the industry; • The sheep industry continues to lag behind other livestock industries in the adoption of genetic improvement technology resulting in a competitive disadvantage of sheep with respect to other livestock species; and • The share of public and private support for new technology development and educational activities received by the sheep industry continues to decline relative to other livestock sectors. Sheep Health Issues Diseases reduce sheep viability, overall growth, rate of gain, immunity, and reproductive performance, which together reduce production efficiency and income.
|
From page 6... ...
Opportunities for minimizing the economic impacts of diseases include: • The use of the identification system to monitor animal movement as the foundation for an overall flock health program; and • An improvement in biosecurity practices to help reduce the spread of endemic diseases and prevent the entry of highly contagious diseases. Challenges remain however and include:
|
From page 7... ...
The U.S. Lamb Industry Sheep producers sell their lambs to a relatively small number of relatively large commercial feeders.
|
From page 8... ...
The functioning of lamb markets is affected by a wide range of policies and regulations designed to regulate the business practices of those who engage in the buying and selling of lamb, including meat inspection laws, the Packers and Stockyards Act, and mandatory price reporting. The USDA Livestock Risk Protection-Lamb Insurance Policy program is a new price risk management tool that provides producers and feeders of lambs with the opportunity to insure lambs they own against unexpected price declines.
|
From page 9... ...
Wool currently accounts for 10 to 30 percent of sheep production income in range production systems and < 5 percent in intensive farm flock production systems. Wool producers use one of three primary market preparation methods at shearing (original bag, bellies out and the fleeces not tied individually, and table skirted and classed)
|
From page 10... ...
The world wool market is dominated by China, which purchases almost 50 percent of the world market supply of raw wool and produces 39 percent of the world's wool apparel products. More research on pricing and income elasticities for wool is critical to ensure an accurate understanding of the U.S.
|
From page 11... ...
wool industry: • Fragmented selling systems, fewer domestic wool buyers, distance-tomarket challenges for producers, greater concentration of the wool processing industry; • A shortage of qualified sheep shearers; • A need to continue the trend toward preparing wool to international standards; • Contamination from hair sheep breeds; and • A lack of financial support for critically needed research.
|
From page 12... ...
Future growth of the industry could be limited by: • The lack of either regional or national genetic improvement programs for dairy sheep traits in the United States; • Limited research and extension support for dairy sheep production, sheep milk processing, or sheep milk product marketing; • Limited marketing options; and • Imports of lower-priced sheep milk cheeses. Alternative and Emerging Markets Although the full extent of the changes taking place in the industry is difficult to determine, sheep and lamb inventories indicate growth in eastern and mid-Atlantic states and in the Midwest, where alternative and emerging markets are particularly important.
|
From page 13... ...
Many sheep producers are taking proactive approaches to sell their own products directly to customers and foodservice operators and bypass traditional marketing channels. Advances in communication systems, especially the Internet, have facilitated such direct marketing.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.