01/31/06 Cattle, sheep, goat numbers are all up

After nearly a decade of declining cattle numbers, there's expansion for the second year in a row. National Ag Statistics Service says there are 97.1 million cattle and calves in the US as of January first, a two percent increase over 95.4 million a year ago. NASS says the all cows inventory hit its highest level since 2001 with 42.3million head, a one percent increase above last year. There are similar increases to report in sheep and lamb numbers. That makes two years in a row that sheep and lamb counts increased, now to 6.23 million head. But American Sheep Industry executive director Peter Orwick says the important thing to remember is the increase in market lambs. ORWICK "We're up two percent on numbers overall. We're actually producing more market lambs to go into the meat business and that's important for them to actually now see the fruits and keep more lambs out of the meat trade and put them into the breeding herd." The Chief of the National Ag Statistics Service Livestock Branch is Dan Cerestes. He says the expansion in the nation`s cattle and sheep herds had been widely expected but the goat numbers are a different story. CERESTES "The goats are up four percent over a year ago and that shows us that the goat population in the US is here to stay." The increase in goat numbers in 2005 is tied closely to the increase in US demand for goat meat, mostly from ethnic groups. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott