February 7, 2002

North Dakota Sheep Production Continues Upward Trend

Sheep Production in North Dakota is bucking historical and regional trends, notes a North Dakota State University sheep specialist.

Inventory numbers released recently by the North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service showed an increase in total sheep numbers in North Dakota of about 5 percent over a year ago. As of Jan. 1, there were about 145,000 head of sheep and lambs in the state.

"Each of the surrounding states, Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wyoming, saw at least a 5 percent decline in the number of sheep," notes Roger Haugen sheep specialist with the NDSU Extension Service. Nationally, the sheep inventory was down 4 percent.

The number of sheep in North Dakota has been gradually increasing since 1996 when there were only 125,000 head in the state – the lowest number on record. The state’s sheep flock had been declining since a 1942 peak of nearly a million head. The new inventory numbers improve North Dakota’s rank from 16th to 13th in the nation for sheep production. The number of producers has remained stable at about 1,100 over the past several years.

Haugen attributes the recent uptrend to a number of factors. One key is the North Dakota Lamb and Wool Producers Association, he says. "That group has been very active in working with producers and trying some innovative ideas."

The efforts of that group and the Dakota Lamb Growers Cooperative are at least partially responsible for continued research and education efforts for sheep producers at NDSU. That support is particularly important to producers who have added or expanded sheep enterprises to augment farm income -- relatively common in North Dakota, Haugen says.

The cooperative is also responsible for some enthusiasm and growth in the North Dakota sheep industry over the past few years, Haugen says. The Jan. 1 inventory shows a 9,000-head increase in the number of feeder lambs in the state. "North Dakota is not normally a big lamb feeding state, but I believe the cooperative is behind some of that increase."

Haugen and other sheep specialists and researchers from North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana will discuss sheep industry trends, issues and research at the NDSU Hettinger Research Extension Center’s Annual Sheep Day on Wednesday, Feb. 13. The event opens at 9:30 a.m. at the Hettinger Armory and continues until about 4 p.m. The event is free, features a sponsored American lamb Dinner at noon.

Within the state, there are other changes in the sheep industry.

In 1980 there was only one county in North Dakota with fewer than 1,000 sheep. Today there are 17. And the counties with the most sheep have shifted as well. The southeastern quarter of the state had several counties with high sheep numbers in 1980. Now most of the sheep population has shifted to the west. Most of the counties with fewer than 1,000 sheep are along the northern border of the state.

Haugen also points out that there are fewer range flocks in the state. "We have a large number of farm flocks or flocks that are in confinement during parts of the year," he explains. "Predators and a need to more intensely manage sheep for meat production are driving that trend."

Likewise, there are fewer purebred operations in the state, although North Dakota is still considered a good source of purebred Columbia sheep and that breed still accounts for most of the purebred flocks in the state, Haugen says.

Haugen says several factors will continue to drive change within North Dakota’s sheep industry.

"The lamb market holds the key," he says. "Wool is basically a non-issue for producers. It just doesn’t pay the bills. Producers need to be producing for the lamb market to be profitable."

Predators, primarily coyotes, will continue to plague producers. "How well your operation can cope with predators is becoming a larger issue," Haugen says. Historically, ewes had little value and their loss to predators was often considered a cost of doing business. "Ewes have broken the $50 mark several times and $40 is not uncommon," Haugen says. "That’s a good selection tool for producers because they can get rid of ewes that aren’t doing the job for them and get most of their money back. On the other hand, it makes the predator problem more serious because ewes are prime targets for coyotes and the value of the loss is much more significant."

How producers adopt new technology and management practices will also influence the future for sheep production in North Dakota. NDSU and USDA researchers have shown that cattle producers can use sheep in multi-species grazing strategies to profitably control leafy spurge in pastures and rangeland. Similarly, researchers have developed techniques for producing lambs out of season and for raising sheep with less labor.

"All the answers are there for some of these new approaches," Haugen says. "But it remains to be seen if producers will adopt them."

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Source: Roger Haugen, (701) 231-7645, rohaugen@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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