Also, highly concentrated restaurant demands that are often based in large cities are often far away from the Western states where many of the lambs are produced. Hence, traveling expenses must also be taken out of the lambs cost as well as the conversion factor from a live animal to a consumable product. So, you may be wondering what this conversion factor from a live animal to a meat product entails. To give an idea of this conversion, take this into account. It takes about 3.3 pounds of live lamb product to produce 1 pound of boneless, trimmed retail cuts.
Retail prices take into account marketing, or what value was added to the lamb product.
This includes things like processors, distributors, packaging, promotion and display. Many believe that this is due to an increase in the cost of processing, wholesaling, and retailing. As times change and technology takes over our world and our consumer's demands, the lamb and sheep industry has changed with consumer's demands. A new development has been processing of lamb products directly in the slaughter plants. In this process, the carcass is cut into specific cuts and then vacuum-sealed and shipped to stores in cardboard boxes.