Sheep Industry News October 2022

Make Plans Now to Attend 2022-23 Shearing Schools

I f you’re interested in learning the art of sheep shearing, now is the time to start making plans to attend a shearing school this fall or next spring. Schools around the United States have (or soon will) set dates for the coming months. Schools that have submitted their dates to ASI include: • The Montana Wool Harvesting School is scheduled for Oct. 13 16 in Molt, Mont. Contact Denise Hoepfner at denise.hoepfner@ montana.edu to register. • A Crutching, Wigging and Catch Pen Dynamics Advanced Shearing Course will be taught by Trevor Hollenbeck on Oct. 14-16 at the University of California Hopland Research and Extension Center. Visit bit.ly/Crutching2022 for more information. • The North Dakota State University Hettinger Research Exten sion Center Shearing School is set for Nov. 19-21 in Hettinger, N.D. For more information, contact Christopher Schauer at Christopher. schauer@ndsu.edu or 701-567-3582. • The South Dakota State University Shearing School is sched uled for December at the SDSU Sheep Unit in Brookings, S.D. he American Lamb Board announced the release of two reports in September which provide the industry with valuable infor mation for short- and long-term assessment of the American lamb marketplace. The Second Quarter Retail Sales report (April 10 to July 2) analyzes multi-unit data from food/grocery, drug, mass merchandisers (such as Walmart), club stores (like Sam’s), dollar stores and military commis saries. Key findings are: • Despite a higher price point, U.S. consumer demand for lamb remains strong. As of Q2 2021, the average price/lb. of lamb was $8.41, but grew to $9.47/lb. for Q2 2022. • While lamb sales largely remained flat between the latest 52 weeks compared to the previous 52 weeks, both dollars and pounds have seen impressive growth between Q2 2021 and Q2 2022, with dollar sales increased 15.7 percent and volume increased 9.3 percent. • Easter Week 2022 saw volume sales reach 2.94 million lbs., just shy of Easter 2021 (3.04 million). Given the higher price point, dollar sales in Easter Week 2022 reached $26.8 million, compared to $24.5 million in 2021. • Leg sales exploded between Q2 2021 and Q2 2022. Almost the entirety of the volume growth was driven by lamb leg. Leg saw 43.2 AMERICAN LAMB BOARD T

Contact Kelly Froehlich at Kelly.froehlich@sdstate.edu or 605-688 5433 for more information. • The Wisconsin Shearing School is scheduled for Dec. 15-16. For more information, contact Todd Taylor at toddtaylor@wisc.edu. • The Utah State University Sheep Shearing School is set for Jan. 19-21, 2023, at the USU Animal Science Farm in Wellsville, Utah. Visit www.eventbrite.com/e/usu-sheep-shearing-school-2023- registration-407662919767 for more information. • Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., will host a shearing school on March 1-2, 2023. Contact Extension Associate Amy Bax at BaxA2@LincolnU.edu to register. • The Tennessee Sheep Producers Association Sheep Shearing School is scheduled for April 7-8, 2023, at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Contact Mark Powell at 615 519-7796 or shepherdboy1@yahoo.com for more information. • Shepherd’s Cross in Claremore, Okla., will host a shearing school on April 13-15, 2023. Visit www.shepherdscross.com to register. percent more pounds sold and a 53.1 percent increase in dollars. Note that this growth is a reflection of Easter sales, which fell in Q2 of 2022 compared to Q2 2021 – Easter sales fell in Q1 in 2021. A few weeks is all it takes to see a major shift in the American lamb market. The August Lamb Market Summary – prepared for ALB by ASI – found what many industry members suspected. Inflation this year has resulted in a decline in real incomes, impacting consumers’ willingness to pay for lamb. While the Consumer Price Index in July was steady with the prior month, food prices kept increasing, with inflation for food at home and at restaurants 13 percent and 7.6 percent higher, respectively. As a result, the demand for live lambs has declined, resulting in a slowdown in feedlot marketings, heavier lamb weights, a rise in over finished lambs and high feed costs which has reinforced declining live lamb prices. “What makes this situation so disheartening is that the primary cul prit – inflation – is out of our industry’s control,” said ALB Chairman John Camino. “What the Lamb Board can do short-term is give con sumers reasons to choose American lamb. An example is the in-store sampling underway in partnership with Superior Farms.” Monthly lamb market summaries and other reports can be found at LambResourceCenter.com/market-reports.

Lamb Retail Sales and Reports Released

10 • Sheep Industry News • sheepusa.org