NCERA_temp214: Increased Efficiency of Sheep Production
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee / Education, Extension and Research Activity)
Status: Draft Project
NCERA_temp214: Increased Efficiency of Sheep Production
Duration: 10/01/2027 to 09/30/2032
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
The United States sheep industry has considerable potential for growth, supported by increasing demand for lamb and favorable market conditions. The national sheep inventory has remained relatively stable over the past decade, declining from 5.32 million animals in 2016 to 4.99 million in 2026 (USDA-NASS, 2026). During this period, per capita lamb consumption increased from 1.2 to 1.4 pounds, while the U.S. population grew by approximately 20 million people. Market lamb prices also increased substantially, from $138.60/cwt in 2016 to $292.03/cwt in August 2026 (USDA-ERS, 2026). Despite these favorable market signals, domestic production has not kept pace with demand. Lamb imports reached 349 million pounds in 2025, approximately 2.5 times domestic production, with Australia and New Zealand supplying the majority of imported product. Yet, domestic lamb has demonstrated competitive advantages in eating quality, with Phelps et al. (2018) reporting greater overall consumer satisfaction of U.S. lamb compared to Australian and New Zealand products. Together, these trends suggest opportunities for U.S. producers to capture additional market share. Realizing this potential will require addressing improving production efficiency with rising input costs.
Genetics, nutrition, health, reproduction, and animal management remain the foundation of sheep research and extension, including previous iterations of NCERA-214. Continued progress in these disciplines is essential to addressing persistent challenges in reproductive efficiency, nutritional management, lamb survival, disease prevalence, parasite resistance, and genetic improvement. Recent research demonstrates continued progress in these disciplines, including USDA-NIFA-funded efforts to develop genomic tools that improve animal robustness and climatic resilience across four major U.S. sheep breeds (USDA-NIFA, 2022). Building on this work, NCERA-214 will bring together researchers and extension specialists from land-grant institutions across diverse production environments to strengthen these core disciplines, address longstanding production challenges, and translate scientific advances into meaningful improvements in sheep production.
Labor availability and input costs remain major constraints on sheep production, creating opportunities for emerging technologies to improve efficiency. Electronic identification, automated monitoring, and virtual fencing offer potential benefits, but their practical and economic value under commercial conditions requires further evaluation. For example, virtual fencing could reduce labor and expand grazing management options, yet equipment costs, reliability, and limitations specific to sheep and goats remain barriers to adoption (Melo-Velasco et al., 2024). NCERA-214 will provide opportunities to evaluate and adapt these and other emerging technologies to develop practical, cost-effective applications for sheep producers.
Novel grazing opportunities are expanding the role of sheep in agricultural and land-management systems. Solar grazing, in particular, offers opportunities for existing producers to diversify income and for new producers to enter the industry. In 2024, approximately 113,000 sheep grazed more than 129,000 acres of solar installations in the United States (ASGA, 2025). Additional opportunities exist in targeted grazing for wildfire fuel reduction, invasive plant management, and integrated crop-livestock systems. However, important questions remain regarding animal performance, grazing management, ecological impacts, and economic sustainability across diverse environments (Goosey et al., 2005, Mosley et al., 2017, Stewart et al., 2025). NCERA-214 will support collaborative research and extension efforts to develop practical, sustainable management strategies for these emerging grazing systems.
Animal health and well-being remain essential to efficient sheep production. Infectious diseases, parasites, reproductive disorders, and predation contribute to animal losses and increased production costs. The reemergence of New World screwworm and the first confirmed U.S. case of classical scrapie in more than five years underscore the importance of continued surveillance, prevention, and preparedness (USDA-APHIS, 2026). Expanding NCERA-214 to more explicitly address animal health, predation, and environmental threats creates opportunities for new collaborations among animal scientists, veterinarians, wildlife specialists, and Extension professionals. This broader approach will strengthen efforts to develop practical, integrated strategies that improve animal well-being, reduce losses, and enhance the resilience of sheep production systems.
Research outcomes must translate into practical improvements for sheep producers. On-farm research and demonstrations provide opportunities to evaluate management strategies under commercial conditions while strengthening producer engagement and adoption. The ASI-funded Mickel Project demonstrated this approach by partnering with a commercial sheep operation to evaluate the effects of selecting rams using estimated breeding values on lamb growth and carcass performance, providing producers with tangible evidence of the value of genetic selection (ASI, 2020). Building on examples such as this, NCERA-214 will emphasize producer involvement and integration of Extension throughout the research process to ensure scientific advances address industry priorities and deliver measurable benefits.
The opportunities and challenges facing the U.S. sheep industry require collaboration across institutions, disciplines, and production systems. NCERA-214 will build upon its core strengths in genetics, nutrition, reproduction, animal health, and management, while fostering complementary collaborations in emerging technologies, alternative grazing systems, and predation management. Returning to the NCERA framework will facilitate broader participation by researchers and extension specialists, encouraging complementary research, knowledge exchange, and coordinated outreach across institutions. The proposed objectives also align with USDA's 2026 research priorities by advancing producer profitability through improved production efficiency, strengthening animal health and disease preparedness, and evaluating grazing strategies that support soil health and long-term land productivity (USDA, 2025). Together, these activities will advance the productivity, profitability, and resilience of U.S. sheep production while supporting opportunities for industry growth during 2027–2032.
Objectives
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Improve animal and flock productivity, health, growth, product quality, and resilience through genetics, nutrition, reproduction, and integrated management.
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Develop and evaluate emerging technologies and management strategies that improve production efficiency, reduce labor, and enhance the commercial viability of sheep production systems.
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Develop and evaluate strategies to prevent, detect, and manage disease, predation, environmental hazards, and other emerging threats to sheep health and well-being.
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Evaluate the role and effects of sheep within traditional and emerging grazing, agricultural, and land-management systems and ecosystems.
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Engage producers in applied research, on-farm demonstration, and extension programs that address priority needs and accelerate adoption of research-based practices.
Procedures and Activities
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
Projected Participation
View Participation FormEducational Plan
Organization/Governance
Literature Cited
American Sheep Industry Association (ASI). 2020. The Mickel Project: A Leading Edge Study. ASI Let's Grow Program. https://www.sheepusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/leading-edge-final.pdf
American Solar Grazing Association (ASGA). 2025. United States Solar Grazing 2024 Census. American Solar Grazing Association, in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. https://solargrazing.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ASGA-CensusReport2024.pdf
Goosey, H. B., Hatfield, P. G., Lenssen, A. W., Blodgett, S. L., & Kott, R. W. (2005). The potential role of sheep in dryland grain production systems. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 111(1-4), 349-353.
Melo-Velasco, J., Wilson, K. R., Heimsoth, J., & Myers, R. L. (2024). “There will always be collars in my future”; Exploring US ranchers’ and company representatives’ perspectives of virtual fencing for livestock. Smart Agricultural Technology, 9, 100632.
Mosley, J. C., Frost, R. A., Roeder, B. L., & Kott, R. W. (2017). Targeted sheep grazing to suppress sulfur cinquefoil (Potentilla recta) on northwestern Montana rangeland. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 70(5), 560-568.
Phelps, M. R., Garmyn, A. J., Brooks, J. C., Martin, J. N., Carr, C. C., Campbell, J. A., ... & Miller, M. F. (2018). Consumer assessment of lamb loin and leg from Australia, New Zealand, and United States. Meat and Muscle Biology, 2(1).
Stewart, W. C., Scasta, J. D., Maierle, C., Ates, S., Burke, J. M., & Campbell, B. J. (2025). Vegetation management utilizing sheep grazing within utility-scale solar: Agro-ecological insights and existing knowledge gaps in the United States. Small Ruminant Research, 243, 107439.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 2025. Secretary Rollins Announces New Priorities for Research and Development in 2026. December 30, 2025. Washington, DC: USDA. https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/12/30/secretary-rollins-announces-new-priorities-research-and-development-2026
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS). 2026a. USDA Confirms Presence of New World Screwworm in the United States. June 3, 2026. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/usda-confirms-presence-new-world-screwworm-united-states
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS). 2026b. USDA Confirms Detection of Classical Scrapie in a Slaughtered Sheep. https://direct.aphis.usda.gov/news/program-update/usda-confirms-detection-classical-scrapie-slaughtered-sheep
United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS). 2026. Livestock and Meat Domestic Data: All Supply and Disappearance (Meat Supply and Disappearance Tables). Updated September 29, 2026. Washington, DC: USDA. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/livestock-and-meat-domestic-data
United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA-NASS). 2026. Sheep and Goats. January 30, 2026. Washington, DC: USDA. https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/795751/shep0126.pdf
United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA). 2022. Improving Robustness and Climatic Resilience in U.S. Sheep Populations Through Genomics. USDA National Agricultural Library, Food Safety Research Projects Database. Project No. NEB-26-256, Accession No. 1027785. https://www.nal.usda.gov/research-tools/food-safety-research-projects/improving-robustness-and-climatic-resilience-us-sheep