Sheep Industry News March 2022

duced domestic production make the United States an attractive destination.

LAMB AND MUTTON IN COLD STORAGE Frozen, End of the Month

Mil. Pounds

50

COLD STORAGE Stocks of lamb have often been a real industry problem, pressuring prices and hanging over the market. At the beginning of the pandemic in Spring 2020, cold storage stocks as reported by USDA hit 48 million pounds – a huge number. But those stocks worked through the market dramatically in the course of 2020 and remained low throughout 2021, ending the year at 22 million pounds – well below the five-year average of 33 million pounds. Lamb in cold storage is not beginning the year in bad shape and should be supportive for prices early in the year.

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Avg. 2015-19 2020 2021

Data Source: USDA-NASS Livestock Marketing Information Center

WOOL Wool prices, as indicated by the Australian market, have trended higher since the beginning of the year. While the wool market indi cator value is higher than last year at this time, it has been running about 15 percent below the five-year average. It would appear that the recent upward trend in prices has pulled some more supplies out of storage and into the market, resulting in some lower prices in the last week. It appears that the price spread by micron has been grow

ing with finer micron wool selling at a larger premium to coarser wools.

ON BALANCE Fewer market lambs in the inventory report should translate to reduced lamb production in the next couple of months. When combined with reduced cold storage stocks and declining imports

March 2022 • Sheep Industry News • 7