Sheep and mutton production numbers are down sharply from this time last year despite a strong start and increases in several key categories.
According to a new report from Yuri Clemets Daglia Calil of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, “production peaked at the end of the first quarter, outpacing 2022 numbers.” It was then followed by a decline, hitting a low in July.
From January to November 2023, federally inspected lamb and mutton production totaled 102.1 million pounds, a 2.7% decrease from the same period in 2022. Amid this decline, sheep and lamb slaughter actually increased by 3.4% to 1.63 million head.
The pivotal factor in that discrepancy lies in weight, with the average federally inspected live weight dropping by 6.3% to 124.3 pounds. Dressed weight has also seen a 6% average decrease. Calil said this is most likely due to lambs going to market at lighter slaughter weights than usual and could also be an indicator that fewer sheep are being fed in feedlots.
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Total supplies, including imports and cold storage stocks, revealed a cold storage volume of 26.1 million pounds in October, a 9% reduction compared to the same month in 2022. A 17.4% decline in lamb and mutton imports was recorded this year, amounting to 174 million pounds from January to September 2023, down from 211 million pounds during the corresponding period last year.
After a mid-2022 collapse, live lamb prices gradually recovered in 2023, surpassing 2022 levels by midyear. Tighter overall supplies from domestic production, reduced imports and less product in cold storage have helped to increase prices from last year.
On the heels of year-to-date production challenges, production in recent weeks has surpassed the levels observed in 2022, although there was a noticeable dip during the Thanksgiving-shortened workweek.
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