The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) has begun releasing some of the results from their producer survey. I'm posting some of the information below from their news service. I've included the general national information and only District VIII (includes CA, OR and WA) info from their web site. To read more about other districts go to: http://sheepindustrynews.org/?page=site/text&nav_id=b006223d553381cdcd63f1384c722dff&archive_id=

ASI Survey Results
Series 1: Profile of the Average Sheep Producer in each ASI Region

By AMY TRINIDAD
Sheep Industry News Editor

(April 1, 2010)  In an effort to get a better understanding of today’s sheep producers, the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) administered a survey this past winter…and the results are in. One of the key reasons for the survey was to assist the Re-build the Sheep Inventory Committee in its ongoing national effort to strengthen U.S. sheep production. The information will be published in a series of articles in the Sheep Industry News, the first profiling the average sheep producer in each of the eight different ASI regions.

Following are some summary data:

1. The structure of the sheep industry at the producer level has changed. The portion of producers with one to 100 head of sheep has increased from 20 years ago. According to a survey conducted by ASI in 1989, this sector comprised 59 percent of the industry, today, it is 64 percent of the industry. And the next largest sector, at 24 percent, is the 101 to 500 head.

2. Nearly 60 percent of the survey respondents are 51 years and older, similar to 20 years ago.

3. Sixty-four percent of the producers reported being commercial producers, 22 percent are seedstock, 10 percent are club lamb producers, 4 percent are lamb feeders and 0.4 percent are dairies.

4. Fifty-three percent of producers’ total agriculture operation revenue is from sheep.
5. A majority – 75 percent – of the sheep operations have family members working as part of the operation; however, 65 percent of the producers surveyed reported family member do not plan to take over the sheep operation when the older generation retires.

6. Regarding lambing, the typical percent of lambs born per ewe exposed averages 159 percent, the typical percentage of lambs weaned per ewe exposed is 146 percent and the average weight per lamb weaned is 69 pounds.

7. Of those producers who sell slaughter lambs, 54 percent report they sell them at livestock auctions, 43 percent sell lambs live to consumers and 29 percent sell meat to consumers.

8. As for wool sales, 35 percent sell their wool direct to a buyer, 29 percent sell to a woolpool and 25 percent sell through a warehouse. Among the other responses for how producers sell their wool, 28 percent reported they do not have wool to sell.

9. The average annual ewe replacement rate is 18 percent nationally.

10. More producers are utilizing the services of a veterinarian for the sheep operation. In 1989, that portion of the industry was 30 percent, today, it is 72 percent.

11. More than 70 breeds and crosses were identified in the survey. Meat breeds are the most popular but hair sheep ranked number nine and 10 in the top 10 breeds. The top 10 breeds are Suffolk, Rambouillet, Dorset, Targhee, Polypay, Suffolk crosses, Hampshire, Columbia, Katahdin and Dorper.

Region VIII – Calif., Ore. and Wash.
Of all of the respondents of the survey, 13 percent are from this region with 65 percent of the producers raising a flock of sheep less than 100 head, 23 percent with a flock between 100 and 500 and 8 percent raising a flock between 1,000 and 5,000 head. Sixty percent the sheep producers are between the ages of 51 and 70 and another 17 percent between the ages of 41 and 50. In this region, 74 percent of the producers have family members as part of the sheep operation; however, only 32 percent say family members plan to take over the sheep operation when they retire. Sixty-six percent of the producers in this region consider themselves to be commercial sheep producers, another 18 percent are seedstock producers and 12 percent are club lamb producers. Producers in this region say they get 52 percent of their total agriculture operation revenue from sheep. Regarding lambing, producers in this region average 154 percent of lambs born per ewe exposed and wean 146 percent of their lambs per ewe exposed. The average weaning weight is 82 pounds. Half of the producers say they place their own lambs on feed before slaughter. Of those who sell slaughter lambs, 24 percent sell them live to a consumer, 21 percent sell meat to a consumer and 18 percent sell lambs at a livestock auction. Of those who sell wool, 37 percent of these producers sell it directly to a buyer and another 34 percent sell it through a woolpool. Their average annual ewe replacement rate is 14 percent, the lowest percentage rate of all the regions, and 68 percent use a veterinarian for their sheep operation. 

I’ll bet a lot of you guessed chicken or pork. Some of you probably thought beef. Surprise! While in the United States, we tend to consume chicken as our white meat choice and beef as our red meat choice 63% of the world's population consumes goat meat. Interestingly, more and more goat meat is being consumed in the United States and not just as an ethnic dish due to the growing ethnic population. The health conscious consumer is also looking at the benefits of incorporating either Cabrito (a delicacy meat from goats that are harvested between 1 to 3 months of age and weigh less than 50 pounds) or Chevon (goats that are harvested between 6 to 9 months of age and weigh between 50 and 75 pounds). Older goat meat is also consumed but usually as sausage or in chili.

Mendocino and Lake Livestock producers, especially those who want to sell local, might want to consider adding goats to their mix of cattle and/or sheep. I know some of you are already a head of the curve (see our goat producer directory on our web site, http://ucanr.org/livestock producer directories). Multi-species grazing on our rangelands not only provides economic diversity for the ranch but utilizes our rangeland forages better than single-species grazing. But let’s get back to that health-conscious consumer and why demand for goat meat is growing.

The table below shows the nutrient comparison of goat meat to that of traditionally raised chicken, beef pork, and lamb. I suspect that these values are based on grain finishing as we already know that grass finishing will result in slightly different values. They may also be affected by the potential younger age of Chevon.

Nutrient Composition of Goat and Other Types of Meat1, 2
Nutrient	Goat	Chicken	Beef	Pork	Lamb
Calories	122	162	179	180	175
Fat (g)	2.6	6.3	7.9	8.2	8.1
Saturated Fat (g)	0.79	1.7	3.0	2.9	2.9
Protein (g)	23	25	25	25	24
Cholesterol (mg)	63.8	76.0	73.1	73.1	78.2
1 Per 3 oz. of cooked meat
2 USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 14 (2001)

You can see from the above that goat meat is lower in calories, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol than traditional meats. Less saturated fat and less cholesterol mean healthier red meat for the health-conscious consumer. Additionally, goat meat has higher levels of iron (3.2mg) when compared to a similar serving size of beef (2.9 mg), pork (2.7 mg), lamb (1.4 mg), and chicken (1.5 mg). Comparatively, goat meat also contains higher potassium content with lower sodium levels. Regarding essential amino acid composition, goat meat closely resembles that of beef and lamb.

With these benefits it’s clear why the consumer is looking at different meats like goat. Ideally as grass-farmers, it makes sense to diversify for the health of our rangeland and for the economic well-being of the ranch. Consider adding goats to your operation.

Given Mendocino County's past history of hop production and that hops are closely related to that other plant that both Lake and Mendocino Counties are known for, I thought you would find the following that came via the American Sheep Industry's news service of interest.

An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist may have found a way to cut the amount of ammonia produced by cattle. To do it, he's using a key ingredient of the brewer's art: hops.

Cattle, deer, sheep, goats and other ruminant animals depend on a slew of naturally occurring bacteria to aid digestion of grass and other fibrous plants in the first of their four stomach chambers, known as the rumen.

The problem, according to ARS microbiologist Michael Flythe, comes from one group of bacteria, known as hyper-ammonia-producing bacteria (HAB). While other bacteria are helping their bovine hosts convert plant fibers to cud, HABs are breaking down amino acids, a chemical process that produces ammonia and robs the animals of the amino acids they need to build muscle tissue, according to Flythe, who works at the ARS Forage Animal Production Research Unit (FAPRU) in Lexington, Ky.

To make up for lost amino acids, cattle growers have to add expensive and inefficient high-protein supplements to their animals' feed.

According to Flythe, hops can reduce HAB populations. Hops, a natural preservative, were originally added to beer to limit bacterial growth.

Flythe put either dried hops flowers or hops extracts in either cultures of pure HAB or a bacterial mix collected from a live cow's rumen. Both the hops flowers and the extracts inhibited HAB growth and ammonia production.

Flythe also collaborated with FAPRU animal scientist Glen Aiken on a study in which hops had a positive effect on the rumen's volatile fatty acid ratios, which are important to ruminant nutrition.

In a press release on Thursday, May 21st, USDA said that it wants to help increase the availability of slaughterhouses to serve small livestock and poultry producers. The effort is part of the agency's "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative, which partly seeks to rebuild rural economies and bridge a gap between food producers and consumers.

In a prepared presentation, the USDA shows national maps of livestock production by small farms and the availability of federal inspection slaughter plants. Maps for cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry are shown. USDA defines a small farm as having sales of $250 thousand or less per year.The maps also show the proximity of rendering plants that take offal and deceased livestock - another problem for north coast ranchers. The pdf of the maps is attached.

Not suprising, is the dirth of USDA inspected plants close to Mendocino and Lake Counties. Our meat capacity and feasibility study of the North Coast Region of California already demonstrated this need for our livestock industry to revitalize.