Facing a beef market that is unpredictable, local ag experts said farmers have turned to sheep and lamb to diversify their meat products.
Clay County Ag Extension Agent Wyatt Montooth said farmers in the Upper Cumberland are purchasing more sheep and lamb livestock than they ever have.
“Sheep is getting to be really more common. You know, it used to be a really niche sector of farming but it’s really starting to pick up and take off as its own,” Montooth said.
Sheep and lamb fill similar role to cattle in farming, grazing in pastures off tall grass, according to Montooth. But sheep are more versatile, especially with their financial uses, and require less land to raise.
Unlike cattle, sheep can be sheered for the wool as well as slaughtered and sold on the meat market. Montooth said since modern farming is mainly a numbers game, these differences can be game changing for cattle ranchers looking to accommodate other livestock.
“There’s a lot of market for lamb and it’s getting more popular as more and more people come into our great state,” Montooth said.
Montooth cited a report from 2024 that showed Tennessee had 50,000 lbs of wool production. Montooth said that may be small apples compared to states like Idaho and Wyoming, but a significant agricultural change within the Upper Cumberland region.
“Sheep are a lot smaller than cattle, everyone knows,” Montooth said. “So, they use a lot less ground, you know, less impact. You can get a greater stocking rate versus cattle and it allows you to have more products for sale.”
With the unprecedented level of volatility of selling meat products, sheep and lamb give farmers an additional option to try and mitigate huge swings in pricing.
“It’s just a way to kind of change and really diversify revenue streams. That way, if the cow market took a hit, you know, you’re still going in good place with your lamb, crop and sheep production — and vice versa,” Montooth said.
Ever since the pandemic, Montooth said, the beef prices have risen to record heights and only continue to climb.
While sheep do not draw nearly the price tag cow meat does, they can be a sage investment for farmers when future markets are this difficult to predict. In the coming days, Montooth said he anticipates a price spike for lamb over Easter Weekend.
“When you get to the dollar store and you see that price, you know, on a big rib eye steak or you see that price for a pound of ground burger, it’s really appealing, you know, to turn around and get you some lamb chops or lamb burgers,” Montooth said.
For farmers looking to transition into small remnants like sheep and goats, Montooth warned that they can be highly susceptible to mineral toxicity. High levels of copper, while suitable for cattle, can easily be fatal for sheep and lamb.
