LUBBOCK, Texas — In his 33 years raising sheep in West Texas, Glen Fisher has never seen it so good. Demand by U.S. consumers is up, imports are down and prices have soared.
“You have almost what you can call a perfect storm,” said Fisher, 64, who has about 3,100 animals near Sonora. “The great part is we have record prices for lambs — the highest ever by a whole lot.”
Last year’s May delivery of lamb fetched about $1.39 a pound; this year the price is around $2.20, said Fisher, the immediate past president of American Sheep Industry Association.
Lamb numbers far outstrip those for mutton, from older animals. In 2010, about 156 million pounds of lamb was slaughtered at federal and state inspected plants, compared with about 11 million pounds of mutton.
About 30 percent of lamb is purchased near Easter and Christmas, and consumers this year probably have noticed the increased cost. The Associated Press
