February 1, 2013
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Animal Health Monitoring System posted the second report from the Sheep 2011 Study: Part II: Reference of Marketing and Death Loss on U.S. Sheep Operations.
The Sheep 2011 study was conducted in 22 of the nation's major sheep-producing states, covering 70.1 percent of U.S. farms with ewes and 85.5 percent of the U.S. ewe inventory.
Following are a few highlights from the report.
- Overall, 75.3 percent of lambs were sold in the United States during 2010. Of those, 27.3 percent were sold at auction/sale barns, 24.9 percent were sold directly to slaughter and 17.3 percent were sold directly to buyers/dealers.
- Predator losses have a substantial economic impact on U.S. sheep operations. Overall, coyotes caused the highest percentage of predator losses (52.8 percent), but predator predominance varies by geographic location, flock size and flock type.
- Almost one-fourth of operations (23.9 percent) had a private veterinarian visit for a sheep-related reason during 2010.
- Overall, 80.2 percent of the operations with 20 or more ewes sheared lambs and sheep during 2010.
The report is available at http://nahms.aphis.usda.gov/sheep.
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