Sheep Industry News March 2025

Council Hears How Lamb Can Thrive

T he consensus of panelists during the Lamb Council meeting at the 2025 ASI Annual Convention is that American lamb is uniquely positioned to thrive in today’s meat market – if it embraces the opportunity to share its story to consumers. As prices rise for competing proteins, American lamb is more competitive than ever in the cost category with beef, pork and chicken. And while imports might win out on price, they can’t com pete with the freshness and quality of American lamb. But the only way for sheep producers to take advantage of those aspects in the marketplace is to get out there and tell their stories. “Groups who skew toward lamb – like millennials – are the same ones that are willing to pay more for a quality product,” said Mag gie O’Quinn of Midan Marketing, which works with the American Lamb Board. “But they want to know the farmer’s story, so you’re greatest selling tool is yourselves.” O’Quinn was joined on the panel by Carlos Barba of Superior Farms and Kentucky producer Jim Mansfield who direct markets his Four Hills Farm lamb through Whole Foods, area restaurants and other outlets. “My best promotion is providing samples in the store,” Mansfield said. “We’ve seen consumers at the store who say they don’t buy a lot of meat, but what they do buy is high quality. Consumers want to buy something that is healthy. And sustainability is a bigger issue now. But the flavor and quality still have to be there.” Barba said in-store sampling and programs sponsored by the American Lamb Board have done a good job of getting people to try American lamb, including those who thought they didn’t like lamb. It’s also important to get the product into as many stores as possible, so consumers can find it when they go looking for it, he said. “We have to take advantage of all of those opportunities to market American lamb,” Barba added. “We have a product that is 6,000 miles fresher than the imports.” It’s also important to understand that opportunities take time. Mansfield recalls being introduced to Whole Foods buyers at a meet

ing setup through the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. “Years later, we made our first sale,” he said. It’s also important to keep in mind that consumers who are con cerned with making health-conscience food decisions are also gener ally concerned with doing what’s good for the planet. And American lamb is the perfect protein choice for those consumers as sheep are heavily involved in a variety of climate-positive projects around the country. That includes targeted and solar grazing. “Lamb is nature’s multi-vitamin,” O’Quinn said. “Consumers who are on these weight-loss drugs, they need to eat more protein. So, we want to make sure that lamb is in their shopping carts.” LAMB DASHBOARD Charlie Potts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricul tural Marketing Service provided attendees with a preview of the agency’s new lamb dashboard, which will provide a wide variety of market reports. “The goal was to develop a product that you’ll find useful,” said Potts, adding that the lamb dashboard will be available this spring or summer. “It allows you to pick and choose what data you want to see and analyze. We think it will be a good tool for both small and large producers.” The council also heard a presentation from Patrick Hatzenbuehler, Ph.D., and Brett Wilder of the University of Idaho on potential trade impacts in the lamb industry. Their study found that: • Achieving a 50-percent market share (with imports) requires an extremely restrictive trade policy, causing significant welfare loss in the economy. • With declining supply and expanding demand, tariffs have lim ited and minimal effectiveness in protecting the industry. • A growing supply coupled with a tariff provides room for breath for the industry. Visit SheepUSA.org/events-pastconventionpresentations to see a pdf of their full presentation to the council.

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