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

PRODUCTION: Commercial lamb and mutton production decreased 12% in May to 13.4

million pounds, on par with May 2018. Commercial sheep and lamb slaughter in May

was down 11% to 209,200 head, 6% above the May 2018 level. The average sheep and 

lamb live weight declined one pound to a 128 pound average, 9 pounds lighter than a 

year ago. The average dressed lamb carcass weight, at 67 pounds, was unchanged from 

April but 4 pounds lighter than May of 2018. Mature sheep slaughter decreased 4% in 

May to 10,900 head, 15% over May 2018. Stocks of lamb and mutton in cold storage in 

May decreased 6% to 38.5 million pounds as product moved to support Easter/Passover 

demand. This was 8% above the May 2018 level. 

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

month of June decreased 10%, 7% under the June 2018 level. All regions saw a decline 

in volume graded in June as spring demand passed. Nationally, the number of lambs 

qualifying for the Choice grade decreased 10% and the Choice share of all lambs graded

increased was unchanged at 94%. The Ohio Valley saw the largest percentage decline in 

lambs grading Choice in June, down 32% from May while the Upper Midwest and the 

Mountain State regions experienced the least decline, down 5% and 6% respectively. 

Nationally, the share of more finished lambs increased with a 5% rise in YG 4 and a 3% 

increase in YG 5 while YG 3 lambs declined 4%. Lambs in the Mountain States had the 

largest increase in YG 4-5 lambs, 11% over their May levels while lambs in the Northwest 

saw a slight shift to leaner yields. 

Lamb Markets Overview

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

1 0

1 1

1 2

1 3

1 4

1 5

1 6

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

millions of pounds

Commercial Lamb/Mutton Production

2019 2018 2017

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

3 5

4 0

4 5

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 % - June 2019

19-Jun

19-May

18-Jun

0 %

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

YG1 YG2 YG3 YG4 YG5

Regional Choice Lamb by Yield Grade - June 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 – July 2019

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

June, at 18,600 head, decreased 34% from May, 34% above June 2018. Prices were up 

2% during the month but one percent below the June 2018 monthly average. In auction 

trading, the average monthly price in June for traditional Choice & Prime 2-3, slaughter 

lambs in Sioux Falls, SD, was $155.79 per cwt, down 9% from May on monthly receipts 

of 3,464 head, 24% over the prior month. In San Angelo, TX, the monthly average price 

of Choice and Prime 2-3 wooled and shorn non-traditional slaughter lambs was $150.10

per cwt, a decline of 16% with receipts of 12,102, down 27% from May’s level. At the 

New Holland, PA, sale in June, the monthly average price for Choice and Prime 2-3 

wooled and shorn non-traditional slaughter lambs was $193.09 per cwt., down 16% for 

the month total monthly receipts of 11,643, 2% under May. (note: the basis for reporting 

slaughter lambs changed in May 2019 leaving no adequate comparison to prior years.)

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

cuts, at 17.2 million pounds, declined 22% in May, 6% over the May 2018 level. Fresh 

imports declined 29% in volume with a one percent reduction in share to 41% while 

frozen lamb import volume was down 20% for the month. Australia sent 75% of total 

imports in May including 78% of fresh and 74% of frozen imports. New Zealand 

accounted for 24% of total lamb imports. Chile, Mexico, and Canada rounded out May

imports by volume in that order with Chile sending carcasses while Mexico sent nonspecified bone-in cuts. 

Imports of whole and half lamb carcasses, all in frozen form, declined sharply from April, 

down 42%, and made up 4% of import share. This volume was 6% above the level of 

imports in May 2018. Overall imports of lamb legs declined 27% and accounted for 6%

of imports with fresh leg imports down 67% while frozen volume increased 14%. Imports 

of loin cuts decreased 15% with a 19% decrease in frozen and 14% decrease in fresh loin 

cuts. Loin cuts made up 11% of imports. Shoulder imports, 11% of imported volume in 

May, saw an overall 37% decline in volume, mostly for frozen shoulder cuts down 53%. 

The volume of imported bone-in lamb meat decreased 16% and increased import share 

by 2% to 36%. This decline was evenly shared by both fresh and frozen cuts. Imports of 

other boneless lamb cuts, not identified, decreased 19% in May but increased import 

share to 32%. Most of the decline was in the volume of fresh imports, down 32% for the 

month while frozen imports saw only a 10% decrease in volume. 

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

140

160

180

200

220

240

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

dollars per cwt

New Holland, Penn. Traditional Slaughter Lambs (CH/PR wooled/shorn)

2019 2018 2017

Australia

72.0%

New Zealand

27.2%

Canada

0.045%

Iceland

0.001%

Chile

0.49%

Mexico

0.12%

Uruguay

0.11%

Other

0.72%

Fresh/Frozen Lamb Imports by Origin (totals to date)
Source: USDA AMS Agricultural Analytics Division (www.ams.usda.gov/services/market

-research/aad) Lamb Markets Overview – July 2019

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

carcasses in June declined 21% from May with trading volume 17% below the level of 

June 2018. The gross lamb carcass cutout rose 1% in June to $3.92 per pound, 4% above 

June 2018. The volume of negotiated wholesale trading of fresh and frozen domestic 

boxed lamb cuts in June decreased 23% for the month, 5% under last year’s level. 

Negotiated trading of fresh cuts declined 25% in volume and accounted for 84% of total 

sales. The volume of frozen cut trading decreased 14% for the month.

Traded volume of most lamb cuts declined in June as the Spring demand season passed. 

Fresh leg cuts experienced the most decline in trading with trotter-off legs down 31% 

while price increased 1% (from $3.81 to $3.86 per pound), representing a 23% decline in 

sales volume from last year but at a price 5% over the average price in 2018. The volume 

of sales of boneless legs declined 27% and the average monthly price was up 1% (from 

$5.37 to $5.43 per pound). Sales of medium 8-rib racks decreased 14% and the average 

price was down 1% (from $8.91 to $8.79 per pound). Frenched racks sales declined 22% 

in June and prices declined 3% (from $16.75 to $16.27 per pound). The volume of 

trimmed 4x4 loins trading was down 23% for the month with a 1% increase in the average 

sale price (from $5.22 to $5.28 per pound). Foreshank trading volume declined 15% and 

the average price was unchanged at $4.22 per pound. Trading of square-cut shoulder 

cuts decreased 26% in June while prices rose 4% (from $2.93 to $3.06 per pound). 

Trading of ground lamb decreased7% for the month and prices dropped 1% (from $5.75

to $5.70 per pound). 

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

lamb cuts decreased 6% in June, 12% below the June 2018 level. Sales of fresh product 

declined 7% for the month while frozen cut sales were down 6% as demand settled in 

for the summer marketing period. Imports accounted for 67% of all boxed lamb cut sales 

in June, about unchanged from May.

The overall volume of sales of fresh

and frozen Australian boxed lamb cuts 

rose 10% in June, led by an 18% rise in 

frozen cut sales with a 1% rise in fresh 

cuts. Except for racks, the volume of 

sales of fresh Australian imports was 

up, most for legs with a 45% increase, 

reversing some of the decline from last 

month’s sharp post-Easter drop. Leg 

prices rose 1%. Sales of frozen

Australian cuts was also up but led by 

a 61% increase in shoulder cut sales at 

unchanged prices.

3.7

3.7

3.8

3.8

3.9

3.9

4.0 5

1 0

1 5

2 0

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

2.70

2.75

2.80

2.85

2.90

2.95

3.00

3.05

3.10

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

550

dollars per pound

pounds in thousands

Shoulders, Square-Cut (207) volume v. price 2019 2018 2019$ 2018$

Negotiated Sales of Imported Lamb - June

(change in primal price and sales volume)

Fresh price lbs. price lbs.

racks 99 89 -- --

loins 98 101 -- --

legs 101 145 -- --

shoulders 100 103 -- --

foreshanks 100 157 -- --

Frozen

racks 102 103 99 104

legs 102 103 -- --

shoulders 100 161 -- --

foreshanks 98 132 -- --

percent change

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

Sales of fresh racks were down 11% in June while frozen racks saw a 3% rise in sales. 

Fresh rack prices were down 1% while frozen rack prices increased 2%. Sales of fresh 

Australian shoulder cuts rose 3% while prices were unchanged. Sales of frozen shoulder 

cuts increased 61% but the average sale price was unchanged. Sales of fresh Australian 

foreshanks rebounded from May levels, up 57% with no change in the average price 

while sales of frozen Aussie foreshanks rose 32% with a 2% drop in price. Australian 

boxed loin cut sales were up 1% in June while prices were down 2%. Sales of imported 

frozen New Zealand rack cuts recovered all of the 4% decline from last month but prices 

softened 1%. 

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

imported, fresh and frozen, in June was down 22%, 9% under the June 2018 level. 

Featuring of leg cuts increased sharply from their sharp retreat in May, easily tripling 

offerings led by a surge in featuring for butterflied leg cuts, a popular grill item in some 

parts of the country. The share of retail featuring of leg cuts rose to 28% of all lamb cut 

features in June. The average ad price for leg cuts declined 16%, led by an 8% reduction 

in the average ad price for butterflied legs. Featuring of rack cuts stabilized following 

last month’s adjustment from Easter and were about unchanged in offering and price for 

the month. Racks increased ad share to 5%. Marketing of loin chops retreated sharply 

from their May pace, down 49% in offering and 8% in average ad price with a 9% decline 

in ad share to 35%. Featuring of shoulder cuts during the month also declined with blade 

chop offerings down 46% with a 20% rise in ad price while their round-bone counterparts 

saw a 31% decline in offerings with a 9% rise in price. The share of monthly featuring for 

shoulder chops declined 8%. Ground lamb got little attention from retailers in June as 

promotional activity declined 85% with a 2% rise in ad price. Share fell by half to 3% of 

all lamb cut features. 

8

9

1 0

1 1

1 2

1 3

1 4

1 5

1 6

1 7

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

June 2019 32.9%

June 2019 67.1%

May 2019 32.2%

May 2019 67.8%

June 2018 34.7%

June 2018 65.3%

domestic

imported

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0%

Domestic vs. Imported Boxed Lamb Sales - share of fresh/frozen product sold)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

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

feature activity (1,000's)

dollars per pound

Retail Featuring - Butterflied Legs

19 activity 18 activity 19$ 18$

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

7.0

7.5

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

leg 28%

loin 35%

rack 4 %

shoulder

27%

breast 0.1%

grnd/stew 3 %

shank 3 %

June Retail Feature Share

leg 7 %

loin 44%

rack 4 %

shoulder 35%

breast 2 %

grnd/stew 6 %

shank 2 %

May Retail Feature Share

PRODUCTION: 1 / Jun 19 May 19 change DIRECT SLAUGHTER LAMB: Jun 19 May 19 change

Sheep Meat Production (lbs.)................... 11,400,000 13,400,000 8 5 CH/PR, wooled/shorn (head).............................. 18,600 28,200 6 6

Commercial Sheep Slaughter (head).....................175,300 209,200 8 4 price ($/cwt)................... 159.81 156.04 102

Fed. Insp. Lamb Slaughter (head).........................142,700 171,200 8 3 *AUCTION SLAUGHTER LAMB (shorn/wooled):

Live Sheep Weight (lbs.)......................................... 130 128 102 Sioux Falls, CH/PR, 2/3 (head)............................. 3,464 2,783 124

Dressed Carcass Lamb Weight (lbs.)................................ 7 1 6 7 106 price ($/cwt)...................... 155.79 171.00 9 1

New Holland, CH/PR, 2/3 (head)........................ 11,643 11,919 9 8

COLD STORAGE: price ($/cwt)................... 193.09 228.70 8 4

Lamb/Mutton in Storage (lbs.).............................. 40,007,000 38,484,000 104 San Angelo, CH/PR, 2/3 (head)................................ 12,102 16,643 7 3

price ($/cwt)................... 150.10 179.48 8 4

IMPORTS: 

Total Fresh/Chilled (lbs.)............................................................ 6,982,693 9,186,652 7 6 LAMB CARCASS:

Total Frozen (lbs.)...................................................... 10,207,391 12,791,867 8 0 National Lamb Carcass Sales (head)............................ 9,909 12,542 7 9

Total (lbs.)................................................................ 17,190,084 21,978,518 7 8 Lamb Carcass Gross Cutout ($ per pound)....... 3.92 3.89 101

LAMB GRADED: Jun 19 May 19 change BOXED LAMB CUTS:

Choice (head)....................................................................... 72,796 81,311 9 0 Domestic Fresh Boxed Lamb Sales (lbs.)............................. 4,555,567 6,044,887 7 5

Prime (head)....................................................................... 4,948 5,473 9 0 Imported Fresh Boxed Lamb Sales (lbs.)............................. 4,853,688 5,197,437 9 3

(current month grading numbers are preliminary and subject to change) Imported Frozen Boxed Lamb Sales (lbs.)............................. 6,176,089 6,565,003 9 4

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 – July 2019

Pasture and Range Condition: In June 2019, just over half of the nation’s pastures and ranges were rated 

to be in good condition as moisture levels have been positive for forage crops in the major lamb production 

regions. Most of the improvement was in pastures rated last month in fair condition which declined from 

about a third of pastures to about a quarter with most of the shift moving to good rated pastures. Only 

8% of pastures were rated as poor (6%) or very poor (2%). Of the major lamb production regions, Rocky 

Mountain pastures continue to have the combined good and excellent rating with 74%, a 9% increase over 

May, led by Utah where 93% of pastures received a combined good and excellent rating. Conditions in the 

Upper Midwest improved markedly with an 8% rise in the combined good-excellent rating in June. Much 

of the rise was attributable to improved conditions in Wisconsin which saw a 15% rise in the combined 

good-excellent rating in June over May. 

(derived from the Weekly NASS Crop Progress reports issued May 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 June, the average estimated per pelt credits returned to producers for unshorn 

pelts decreased for all types with Premium grades seeing the least decline in credit. The share of unshorn 

pelts decreased 7% from May to 19% of all pelts as shearing season hits its peak. Credits for shorn pelts 

declined for the higher quality categories and were unchanged for fair to damaged pelts. 

Trading of domestic wool was untested in June. 

Northwest

Rocky Mountain

Upper Midwest

Ohio Valley

Lamb regions

% 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

Range Conditions - Good to Excellent Jun Avg Lamb Pelt Credit Prices

credit change credit change

Supreme 1.63 -0.43 0.88 -0.23

Premium -0.63 -0.20 -0.38 -0.30

Standard -2.00 -0.55 -1.38 -0.13

Fair -2.00 -0.65 -1.75 0.00

Mixed -1.38 -0.38 -2.38 0.00

Damaged -1.88 0.00 -2.38 0.00

Consist % 19% 81%

Unshorn Shorn

May

May

May

May

May

June

June

June

June

June

Northwest

Rocky Mountain

Upper Midwest

Ohio Valley

Lamb regions

% 30 35 40 45 50 55 60

June Range Conditions - Good