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USA:State returns lowest wool production in a decade |
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2004-12-29
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Wool output touched a 10-year low as per the Montana Agricultural Statistics Service’s 2004 annual report.
Montana sheep produced 2,597 pounds of wool valued at $2.7 million last year against 5,092 pounds of wool valued at $4.4 million in 1994.
According to Eric Siebens, at the service''s estimates section, production dropped off partly due to growing synthetic fabrics market.
"Overseas, demand for sheep from the United States has fallen off - that''s a big part of it," he said.
The state still ranks sixth overall in sheep numbers, accounting for 5 percent of the nation''s sheep population at 300,000 head, the report stated. That''s down 28 percent from 1998, when 415,000 sheep were reported in the state.
Carter County has the most sheep in Montana at 39,600, according to the report.
Over 17,000 sheep and lambs were killed by predators in 2003, according to the report, with coyotes accounting for two-thirds of the deaths followed by foxes and dogs, eagles, bears and wolves.
The losses cost Montana sheep ranchers $1.3 million in 2003, the highest since 1997, the report stated. |
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