Lamb is an age-defined ovine product, not a synonym for every sheep or mutton lot. Live feeder and slaughter lambs, carcasses, primal or retail cuts, chilled and frozen meat, edible offal and skins require separate identity, live or carcass weight, quality and yield evidence, origin, inspection, quantity, currency, Incoterm and delivery terms.
The figures below are from the USDA NASS Sheep and Goats report released January 30, 2026. They describe the 2025 U.S. lamb crop and January 1, 2026 market inventory structure, not a live physical offer. USDA quality and yield grades apply defined carcass criteria and do not replace a lot specification.
A live feeder lamb, slaughter lamb, carcass, chilled leg, frozen shoulder, rack, loin or offal item is not interchangeable with another form or with yearling mutton or mature mutton. Atlas keeps age class, live or carcass basis, cut, bone state, trim, fresh or frozen condition and intended use explicit.
USDA AMS lamb-carcass standards distinguish quality grades from Yield Grades 1 through 5. Quality reflects maturity, conformation and related palatability factors; yield grade addresses expected cutability and fatness. A commercial lot may also require carcass weight, fat thickness, plant and inspection evidence, halal or other certification and microbiological or residue requirements.
USDA NASS reported a 2025 U.S. lamb crop of 3.03 million head and a lambing rate of 105 lambs per 100 ewes; market lambs represented 94 percent of January 1, 2026 market sheep and lamb inventory. Those measures and USDA transaction reports support market context but do not determine a delivered lamb price without the exact product, grade, location, quantity, currency, delivery terms and evidence vintage.
No. They represent different ovine age or maturity classes, and the physical product must also distinguish live animal, carcass, cut, chilled or frozen form.
Quality grades address maturity, conformation and related eating-quality factors. Yield Grades 1 through 5 address expected cutability and fatness; neither is a price.
It is USDA NASS's estimate of the United States lamb crop for calendar year 2025, not current market inventory, global production or a physical price.
Age class, live or carcass basis, cut and bone state, fresh or frozen condition, weight range, quality and yield grade, trim and treatment, inspection and certification evidence, packaging, origin, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and evidence date.
Figures retain their source, period and review date. Corroboration is not promoted to primary evidence.