Source: USDA AMS Agricultural Analytics Division (www.ams.usda.gov/services/market-research/aad) Lamb Markets Overview – April 2019 

Lamb Markets Overview 

A monthly publication of the USDA AMS Livestock and Poultry Program, Agricultural Analytics Division April 2019

PRODUCTION: Commercial lamb and mutton production decreased 10% in February

to 11.2 million pounds, 5% under February 2018. Commercial sheep and lamb slaughter 

in February declined 9% to 169,300 head, 3% more than in February 2018. The average 

sheep and lamb live weight declined 2 pounds to a 132 pound average, 11 pounds lighter 

than a year ago. The average dressed lamb carcass weight was unchanged at 69 pounds, 

5 pounds lighter than in February 2018. Mature sheep slaughter was down 15% in 

February to 7,000 head, 6% over 2018. Stocks of lamb and mutton in cold storage in 

February decreased 7% to 35.5 million pounds, 26% above the February 2018 level. 

GRADING: The volume of lambs graded Choice and Prime by the USDA during the 

month of March increased 16% but was 14% below the March 2018 level (Ester fell on 

April 1 in 2018, three weeks ahead of the 2019 date of April 21). Nationally, the number

of lambs qualifying for the Choice grade increased 16% but remained at a 94% share of 

all lambs graded. All lamb production regions participated in the increase with the Upper 

Midwest seeing a 50% overall rise in lambs graded from the prior month followed by the 

Ohio Valley at 24%. These two regions also saw similar increases in lambs qualifying for 

the Prime grade. Nationally, yield grading saw a slight shift to the more finished range 

with lambs grading YG 3 seeing the only decline, down 4%. This shift was most 

pronounced in the Northwest where the number of lambs qualifying for YG 2 in February 

dropped 16% and moved to the YG 4-5 range. The Mountain and Ohio Valley regions 

followed the national trend of declining YG 3 numbers but the loss shifted to the leaner 

end of the range, primarily as an increase in YG 2’s. 

10

11

11

12

12

13

13

14

14

15

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

millions of pounds

Commercial Lamb/Mutton Production

2019 2018 2017

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

millions of pounds

Lamb in Cold Storage 2019 2018 2017

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

YG1 YG2 YG3 YG4 YG5

Choice Lamb by Yield Grade % - March 2019

19-Mar

19-Feb

18-Mar

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

YG1 YG2 YG3 YG4 YG5

Regional Choice Lamb by Yield Grade - March 2019

Northwest

Rocky Mntn

Upper Midwest

Ohio Valley
Source: USDA AMS Agricultural Analytics Division (www.ams.usda.gov/services/market-research/aad) Lamb Markets Overview – April 2019 

LIVE MARKETS: The volume of slaughter lambs trading on a direct negotiated basis in 

March, at 22,300 head, increased 43% from February, 51% above March 2018. Prices 

rose 7% during the month but were 1% below the 2018 level. In auction trading, the 

average price for traditional Choice & Prime 2-3, 90-150 lbs. slaughter lambs at Sioux 

Falls, SD, increased 6% for the month (from $140.27 to $148.76) but was down 3% from 

March 2018. Receipts for the month were down 11% for the month but were 79% over 

the level of a year ago. In San Angelo, TX, the average price of Choice and Prime 2-3 

wooled and shorn non-traditional slaughter lambs increased 6% (from $128.93 to 

$137.16 per cwt.) for the month, up 1% from last year. At the New Holland, PA, sale, the 

average price for Choice and Prime 2-3 wooled and shorn non-traditional slaughter 

lambs in March increased 19% (from $164.70 to $196.65 per cwt.), 2% above the March

2018 monthly average.

LAMB IMPORTS: The overall volume of fresh and frozen imported lamb carcasses and 

cuts declined 33% in February, down from near-record levels in January but 12% above 

the level of February 2018. Fresh imports, at 42% share, declined 18% in February, 1% 

below the 2018 level. Frozen imports were down 37% from January but 12% over 

February 2018 levels (Easter/Passover were observed 3 weeks earlier in 2018). The share 

of frozen cuts, at 58%, was down 4% in share for the month. Australia accounted for 

72% of total imports in February with 83% of fresh cuts and 65% of frozen cuts. New 

Zealand accounted for 27% of total lamb imports with Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, and 

Canada rounding out February imports. 

Imports of whole and half lamb carcasses, virtually all in frozen form, decreased 58% in 

February, 7% less volume than in February 2018 and lost 1% of import share. Imports of 

lamb legs dropped sharply, down 48% for the month, led by a decline in frozen imports, 

with a 1% drop in import share, accounting for 4% of total import share. Imports of 

shoulder cuts, fresh and frozen, had the least decline for the month, down 17% overall 

with frozen shoulder cuts down 7% and fresh down 26%. Shoulder cuts remain a popular 

late-Winter offering in supermarkets. The share of shoulder cuts rose 3% to account for 

12% of all imported lamb cuts. Total imports of loin cuts declined 24% in February, 

mostly on a sharp decline in frozen imports, but managed to increase share to 10% of 

all lamb cuts imported. 

The volume of imported bone-in lamb meat decreased 27% but gained 3% import share. 

This is a 15% increase over February 2018 import levels. Imports of other boneless lamb 

cuts, not identified, declined 40% in volume and nearly 4% in share but remained the 

most imported category with a 37% share of the volume of all imported lamb cuts in 

February. 

120

130

140

150

160

170

180

190

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

dollars per cwt

Negotiated Direct Slaughter Lambs (CH/PR wooled/shorn) 2019 2018 2017

100

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

dollars per cwt

San Angelo Auction Slaughter Lambs (CH/PR wooled/shorn) 2019 2018 2017

8

11

13

16

18

21

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

millions of pounds

Imported Lamb Cuts (fresh and frozen) 2019 2018 2017
Source: USDA AMS Agricultural Analytics Division (www.ams.usda.gov/services/market-research/aad) Lamb Markets Overview – April 2019

DOMESTIC MEAT TRADE: The volume of trading of Choice and Prime, 1-4 lamb 

carcasses in March rose 54% over February but was 16% percent below the March 2018 

level. The gross lamb carcass cutout was unchanged in March at $3.77 per pound, 2% 

above March 2018. The volume of negotiated wholesale trading of fresh and frozen 

domestic boxed lamb cuts in March increased 42% but was 20% behind the same time 

last year. Negotiated trading of fresh cuts rose 38% in volume and accounted for 83%

of total sales. The volume of frozen cut trading increased 65% for the month and 

accounted for 17% of total domestic volume sold. 

Traded volume of all lamb cuts was up significantly in March targeting the approaching 

Easter/Passover demand season which occurs in the second half of April this year. The 

volume of wholesale sales of fresh trotter-off legs rose 45% with a 1% rise in price (from 

$3.60 to $3.62 per pound). This volume was 63% below last year’s level when Easter was 

observed three weeks earlier and the average price was down 1%. All yearly comparisons 

were similarly affected. Boneless legs saw a 63% boost in sales with no change in the 

average monthly price at $5.28 per pound. Sales of medium 8-rib racks were up 77%, 

the most actively traded item for the month, but the average price declined 3% for the 

month (from $9.00 to $8.74 per pound). Sales of frenched racks were up 18% again for 

the month but with a 1% increase in the average sale price (from $16.48 to $16.58 per 

pound). The volume of trimmed 4x4 loins trading continued to rise, up 23% for the 

month with a 2% increase in the average sale price (from $5.15 to $5.24 per pound), 

unchanged from 2018. Foreshank prices were down 1% again this month (from $4.22 to 

$4.18 per pound) but sales rose 16%. Trading of square-cut shoulder increased 49% in 

March but prices were unchanged at $2.76 per pound. Trading of ground lamb increased

53% for the month with a 1% decline in price (from $5.80 to $5.76 per pound). 

IMPORTED MEAT TRADE: The overall volume of negotiated sales of imported boxed 

lamb cuts increased 9% in March, 20%

below March 2018 levels. Sales of 

fresh product increased 20% for the 

month while frozen cut sales were up 

3%. Imports accounted for 60% of all 

boxed lamb cut sales in March, down

6% in share from February with much 

of the frozen product being stockpiled 

to support active retail features for the 

April holiday season. 

In February, the overall volume of sales 

of fresh Australian boxed lamb cuts 

increased 15%, led by increased sales 

of racks, up 20% during the month on 

active stockpiling. 

3.7

3.7

3.8

3.8

3.9

5

10

15

20

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

cutout dollars per pound

head in thousands

Lamb Carcass Sales vs. Lamb Cutout (CH & PR, 1-4)

2019 hd 2018 hd 2019$ 2018$

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

10.0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

millions of pounds

Fresh Domestic Boxed Lamb Cut Movement 2019 2018 2017

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

4.9

5.0

5.1

5.2

5.3

5.4

5.5

5.6

0

100

200

300

400

500

dollars per pound

pounds in thousands

Domestic Boneless Legs, Tied (234) volume v. price

2019 2018 2019$ 2018$

Mar. Negotiated Sales of Imported Lamb

(change in primal price and sales volume)

Fresh price lbs. price lbs.

racks 100 120 -- --

loins 101 113 -- --

legs -- -- -- --

shoulders 100 115 -- --

foreshanks -- -- -- --

Frozen

racks 101 72 99 121

legs 105 80 -- --

shoulders 113 91 -- --

foreshanks 98 165 -- --

percent change

Australia New Zealand
Source: USDA AMS Agricultural Analytics Division (www.ams.usda.gov/services/market-research/aad) Lamb Markets Overview – April 2019

Average prices for fresh Australian cuts were largely unchanged in March with loin cuts 

seeing a 1% rise in the average sale price. Sales of fresh leg and foreshank cuts were 

largely nonexistent in March but can be expected to rise in April with seasonal demand. 

Sales volume of frozen Australian lamb cuts was down 12% from February ahead of the 

April demand season. Except for foreshanks, average prices for frozen Australian lamb 

cuts were higher in March. While foreshank prices declined 2%, volume of sales was up 

significantly, 65% from February. Average prices for frozen shoulders posted a 13% rise 

during the month but volume was down 9%. Frozen rack prices managed to gain 1% for 

the month but sales volume was down 28%. Average prices for leg cuts rose 5% but 

sales volume was down 20%. Sales of frozen imported lamb rack cuts from New Zealand 

rose 21% in volume with a 1% slide in the average sale price. 

RETAIL MARKETING: Supermarket feature activity for lamb cuts, both domestic and 

imported, fresh and frozen, declined 15% in March and was 59% below March 2018 

when Easter fell on April 1. Featuring of leg cuts lost 7% of feature share in March as 

retailers backed off from active promotions in February as they await the start of the 

Easter/Passover demand season. Boneless legs enjoyed the most promotion in the leg 

category but at nearly half of their February levels. Average ad prices for all leg cuts 

declined in March. Shoulder chops increased their ad presence by 2% in March with an 

overall 34% share of all lamb features. Feature activity for blade chops increased 9% 

while their round bone counterparts saw a 39% decline. Ad prices declined for both 

blade and round bone chops 7-9%. Featuring of loin chops led all other cuts in 

supermarket ads in March with 36% of retail lamb features. Average ad prices declined 

5% and activity was down 9%. Ground lamb experienced a 4% increase in featuring and 

ad prices were only slightly down for the month, just 2% from February. Racks saw 

limited promotional activity in March as they await the April demand season. Ad prices 

were down 9% on average on the reduced test. Retail activity is expected to rise in April 

as the Easter (April 21) and Passover (April 19-27) demand periods arrive. 

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

millions of pounds

Negotiated Sales of Imported Lamb (fresh and frozen)

2019 2018 2017

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

4.5

5.5

6.5

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

feature activity (1,000's)

dollars per pound

Retail Featuring - Shoulder Blade Chops

19 activity 18 activity 19$ 18$

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

8.0

8.5

9.0

9.5

10.0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

feature activity (1,000's)

dollars per pound

Retail Featuring - Bone-in Loin Chops

19 activity 18 activity 19$ 18$

Mar 2019 40.2%

Mar 2019 59.8%

Feb 2019 34.1%

Feb 2019 65.9%

Mar 2018 40.2%

Mar 2018 59.8%

domestic

imported

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0%

Domestic vs. Imported Boxed Lamb Sales - share of fresh/frozen product sold)
Source: USDA AMS Agricultural Analytics Division (www.ams.usda.gov/services/market-research/aad) Lamb Markets Overview – April 2019

leg 7%

loin 36%

rack 7%

shoulder

34%

breast 1.2%

grnd/stew 13%

shank 2%

March Retail Feature Share

leg 14% loin 34%

rack 8%

shoulder 30%

breast 1%

grnd/stew...

shank 2%

February Retail Feature Share

PRODUCTION: 1/ Feb 19 Jan 19 change DIRECT SLAUGHTER LAMB: Mar 19 Feb 19 change

Sheep Meat Production (lbs.)................... 11,200,000 12,500,000 90 CH/PR, wooled/shorn (head).............................. 22,300 15,600 143

Commercial Sheep Slaughter (head)......... 169,300 186,800 91 price ($/cwt)................... 141.63 132.20 107

Fed. Insp. Lamb Slaughter (head)............... 139,100 157,500 88 AUCTION SLAUGHTER LAMB:

Live Sheep Weight (lbs.).............................. 132 134 99 Sioux Falls, CH/PR, 2/3, 90-150 lb. (head)...... 829 935 89

Dressed Carcass Lamb Weight (lbs.)......... 69 69 100 price ($/cwt)................... 148.76 140.27 106

New Holland, CH/PR, 2/3, 90-150 lb. ($/cwt) 196.65 164.70 119

COLD STORAGE: San Angelo, CH/PR, 2/3, 90-150 lb.

Lamb/Mutton in Storage (lbs.).................. 35,503,000 38,376,000 93 Shorn price ($/cwt)................... 137.38 129.40 106

Wooled price ($/cwt)................... 136.93 128.45 107

IMPORTS: 

Total Fresh/Chilled (lbs.).................................5,717,682 7,898,492 72 LAMB CARCASS:

Total Frozen (lbs.).............................................7,980,504 12,635,118 63 National Lamb Carcass Sales (head)............... 15,578 10,124 154

Total (lbs.).........................................................13,698,186 20,533,610 67 Lamb Carcass Gross Cutout ($ per pound)...... 3.77 3.78 100

LAMB GRADED: Mar 19 Feb 19 change BOXED LAMB CUTS:

Choice (head)................................................ 88,143 75,866 116 Domestic Fresh Boxed Lamb Sales (lbs.)......... 6,198,880 4,495,639 138

Prime (head)................................................... 6,089 5,140 118 Imported Fresh Boxed Lamb Sales (lbs.)......... 4,090,973 3,411,992 120

(current month grading numbers are preliminary and subject to change) Imported Frozen Boxed Lamb Sales (lbs.)......... 7,006,434 6,771,544 103

1/ - meat production, commercial slaughter, and live weight includes sheep and lamb; Fed. Insp' lamb slaughter and dressed weight are young lambs only. 

Quick Overview
Source: USDA AMS Agricultural Analytics Division (www.ams.usda.gov/services/market-research/aad) Lamb Markets Overview – April 2019

Pasture and Range Condition: This report will be issued again starting in the May 2019 edition. 

(derived from the Weekly NASS Crop Progress reports issued April to November)

Regional Consists - Ohio Valley (MI, NY, OH, PA); Upper Midwest (IA, MN, WI); Rocky Mountain (CO, ID, MT, 

SD, UT, WY); Northwest (CA, OR, WA). Ratings based on percentages described as excellent, good, fair, poor, 

and very poor. 

LAMB PELTS/WOOL: In March, the average estimated per pelt credits returned to producers for shorn 

pelts were unchanged while the credits for unshorn pelts adjusted slightly with the credit for Supreme 

unshorn pelts down $0.02 per pelt and the credit for Premium grade unshorn pelts up $0.13 per pelt. The 

share of unshorn pelts decreased 12% in March, accounting for 56% of all pelts sold. 

Trading of domestic wool in March, both clean and greasy, was inactive through the month. 

March Avg Lamb Pelt Credit Prices

credit change credit change

Supreme 2.23 -0.02 0.38 0.00

Premium 0.00 0.13 -0.88 0.00

Standard -1.00 0.00 -1.25 0.00

Fair -0.75 0.00 -1.75 0.00

Mixed -1.00 0.00 -2.38 0.00

Damaged -1.88 0.00 -2.38 0.00

Consist % 56% 45%

Unshorn Shorn