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Karina Jones is a real-life ranch wife in the Nebraska Sandhills, Field Director for R-CalfUSA and one of the most highly sought-after speakers in the cattle industry nationwide!
And now the NEW VOICE of Farm & Ranch Country, Karina Jones –
Good day everyone in farm and ranch country!
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $300,000 in available grant funding through the Sheep Production and Marketing Grant Program (SPMGP) to strengthen and enhance the production and marketing of sheep and sheep products in the United States. Grant applications are currently being accepted through September 15, 2023.”
Wasn’t long ago and you could travel throughout the western United States and one of your most common sightings would have been sheep…lots of sheep. Infact, I myself grew up on a ranch in western Nebraska that was home to hundreds of white faced ewes.
For those of you that like data, according to R-CALF USA, “81 years ago, in 1942, the people population in the U.S. was about 135 million. And the sheep population was 56 million. That meant that for every 12 people, there were 5 sheep. And what that also meant was that America had lots of food.”
By 1980 there was still 13 million sheep roaming the range with over 17,000 commercial sheep operations. But today, the U.S. sheep inventory has fallen to just over 5 million sheep and lambs and only 3.6 million of them are in the West. And there’s only about 6,800 commercial sheep operations left to shepherd them.
That’s about a 63% reduction in the sheep inventory and a loss of 60% of all our commercial sheep operations. So, when a shrinking industry declines by more than half, it’s safe to say the industry has been destroyed. I fail to see how throwing a few pennies at the problem will fix the issue.
So, let’s see how well America regulated her sheep and lamb imports. In 1990, America produced over 90% of the lamb consumed in America, and imports provided just under 10%.
A decade later, in 2000, imports were beginning to skyrocket and America produced only 66% of the lamb consumed in America, with imports capturing 34% of the domestic market.
And then things went terribly wrong. A decade later, in 2010, American lamb was fast being displaced by imported lamb and America only produced 53% of the lamb consumed in America, with imports capturing 47% of the domestic market.
By the next decade, in 2020, the American sheep industry had been outsourced to foreign countries. That year America only produced 32% of the lamb consumed in America, with imports capturing a whopping 68% of the domestic market.
Sadly, last year was way worse. In 2022, America only produced 28% of the lamb consumed in America and imports captured an unbelievable 72% of the American market.
What’s clear is that America failed to regulate imports and did nothing while imports quickly displaced American sheep production, which has destroyed America’s commercial sheep industry. I fail to see how throwing $300,000 a year at the industry will fix that problem.
Tune in next week as I will bring you more ag news from our nation’s capital.
Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 4 children near Broken Bow, NE. She grew up in western NE, with roots also in southwest SD. The cattle industry and raising kids is her passion.
Tune in Fridays on The Hot Barn Report, where she deep dives into cattle industry issues and highlights industry reforms or listen to Ranch Raised with Karina Jones a slice of daily life on the Jones Ranch.
