Texas lamb and goat producers are seeing positive price trends, but challenges related to higher input costs, drought and predation remain, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.
Reid Redden, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension sheep and goat specialist and director of the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center in San Angelo, said the lamb and goat markets experienced positive gains over recent weeks but that he is unsure if higher prices may signal a longer trend.
Prices had dipped from the post-pandemic gains, which were well above the previous decade’s high, he said.
In Texas, a large segment of lambs and goats are harvested at lighter weights – 40-80 pounds compared to traditional markets, where they are weaned and sent to feed yards so they may reach 140-180 pounds.
Lambs are shipped live to markets around the state and country where they are sold directly to consumers or harvested and marketed by ethnic processors. These non-traditional markets demand smaller, leaner lambs — and pay a premium for them.
“The last few years we saw strong price gains, especially in the late fall and winter months, but this year we did not,” he said. “A big part of that was the traditional sector was down, redirecting feeder lambs from the western states to the nontraditional market outlets, and imports were up.”
Texas lamb and goat prices return to normal
In January 2022, lightweight market lambs were $3.60 per pound, whereas the five-year average was $2.30 per pound, Redden said. Prices over the past summer fell to the five-year average and remained there through the rest of 2022, but they have since returned toward the previous highs.
Imported lamb, which costs half the price of lightweight live lambs, has captured market share of the traditional section, which likely impacted overall premium lamb prices during their slide.
Redden said COVID-19 travel restrictions likely heavily influenced higher live lamb prices because more consumers were purchasing them for traditional meals at home.
“There is a strong desire from the nontraditional outlets to buy from local processors who are buying live lambs,” he said. “But the traditional market matters, and whether it is cheaper imports or inflation, this can influence the lightweight lamb market.”
Goats demand premium prices as well but are also subject to market influences like the economic pressure on consumers when live weight prices reach $4 per pound, Redden said. Texas goat production was down 2% in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA.
Redden suspects the impact of drought on rangeland conditions and higher supplemental feed costs likely resulted in reduced returns to producers. Many areas continue to experience drought, and it may take time for rangelands to recover.
“Sheep and goats fare better through drought than cattle, but many areas have been dealing with drought for several consecutive years. Even if rains come this spring and summer and it will take time to restock. Range health is a top priority for ranchers, and they’ll wait for the rangelands to recover before restocking.”
Additional income and costs for producers
Drought and higher production costs continue to impact producer bottom lines, Redden said. Wool production provides additional income for some producers, but it is considered a byproduct to meat production.
Texas produces quality wool and mohair, and about 80% of the products are shipped overseas for processing. Tariffs and losing market share to other nations like Australia, which has bulked up wool production following higher rainfall, have impacted prices and potential profits.
Redden said there is only a fraction of the Angora goats left in Texas compared to a few decades ago. With a major reduction in supply, kid hair – the first or second cutting – demands premium prices, up to $15 per pound, and adult hair is $6-$10 per pound.
But Redden doesn’t predict any major increases in mohair production because raising Angora goats tends to require a bit more specialized labor than meat goats, restricting mohair production to come from those already in the trade.
The impact of economics and drought to Texas meat and fiber production were evident, but Redden said predation continues to plaque sheep and goat raisers. Coyotes, domestic dogs, bobcats, raptors like golden eagles and black-headed buzzards, and even large feral boar hogs are responsible for roughly 100,000 lamb and kid losses, or 10% of the lamb and kid crop, according to USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service. Redden suspects Texas producers lose closer to 20% of their lambs and kids to predation on average due to how the losses are quantified.
Many producers have transitioned to livestock guardian dogs as their primary defense to predation, which have been researched by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and AgriLife Extension. Redden said good fences and guardian dogs can mitigate a majority of predation losses but these practices are costly and difficult to implement for ranchers operating larger tracts of rangeland.
“That 20% is an average, which means some are hit harder than others,” he said. “Some operations on smaller areas may not have a single loss, whereas a larger range might have severe losses that aren’t sustainable for small ruminant ranching.”
Photo: Sheep prices remained historically strong, but imports and other factors were impacting the market. (Texas A&M AgriLife by Laura McKenzie)
Story by Adam Russell with AgriLife Today.
