Sheep Industry News October 2025

Negotiated slaughter lamb prices have trended the same as the cutout value. Prices began to increase in June, reaching $210.81 per cwt in early September, 13% higher than last year, and 19% higher than the previous five-year average. Stronger demand at the retail and wholesale levels is supporting slaughter lamb prices. Given the recent surge in retail demand, I expect prices to hold steady and possibly increase in October. Trade In the latest trade data, U.S. imports of lamb and mutton for July, totaled 30.2 million pounds, down 4% from last year. Lamb imports at 27.5 million pounds were 7% lower than in 2024 but 16% higher than in June. The increase in lamb imports from June to July was driven by a 25% increase in Australian import volume. Mutton imports, in July were 5.37 million pounds higher than June and about 1.1 million pounds (3.5%) lower than July 2024 import volume. U.S. lamb and mutton exports totaled 0.582 million pounds, with Canada and Mexico accounting for 25% and 28%, respectively. Wool As I write this in the first week of September, the wool market has seen prices increase to levels not seen in quite some time. The Aus tralian Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) was at 1291 AUcents per kg (US$3.82 per pound clean basis), which is up from an annual low of 1199 AUcents per kg in June. Prices in early September were 1310 AUcents per kg (US$3.72 per pound clean basis), the highest since May

2023. This is the strongest run-in weekly prices since 2019. Prices across all grades have increased. Prices for fine wool (micron 16.5-22) saw incremental increases, with 17-micron starting Septem ber at US$5.40 per pound (highest since March 2024), 18-micron at US$5.19 (highest since January 2024) per pound, 19-micron being US$4.80 per pound (highest since May 2022), 20-micron (US$4.63 per pound), 21-micron (US$4.57 per pound), and 22-micron (US$4.54 per pound). In coarser wools (micron 25-32), prices have also increased tremendously, with 25-micron starting September at US$2.71 per pound, the highest since July 2022. The price rises seen this last month are encouraging. While demand is showing some signs of improvement, the primary driver behind ris ing prices is supply. Drought conditions and changes in the Australian flock away from wool numbers are impacting the available supply of wool on the market. Some reports suggest there might not be enough supply if mills want to run near their optimum capacity. In the U.S., tariffs continue to create challenges. Outlook As we head down the home stretch of the year, prices are higher in all markets, which is likely the first time that one could write that in quite some time. As mentioned, each segment of the supply chain has some positivity from a producer’s standpoint. It’s quite refreshing to write those last few sentences, given the last few years have been tough. The combination of expected lower feed costs and strong retail demand should lead to at least stable possibly higher prices for producers.

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October 2025 • Sheep Industry News • 7