Sheep markets separate live breeding animals, market lambs, yearlings, mature sheep, lamb and mutton carcasses, cuts, skins and wool. Age and use class, live or processed form, weight, quality or yield grade, origin, health and inspection evidence, quantity, currency, Incoterm and delivery terms must stay attached to each lot.
The figures below are USDA NASS inventory estimates for January 1, 2026. They describe dated United States livestock scale, not a live physical offer. USDA slaughter-animal and carcass standards use distinct age, quality and yield classifications.
Breeding ewes and rams, feeder or slaughter lambs, yearlings and mature sheep are different live-animal classes. Live animals, carcasses, chilled or frozen cuts, skins and greasy or processed wool are also different products. Atlas preserves the exact class and intended use instead of treating every ovine lot as generic sheep.
USDA AMS maintains standards for slaughter lambs, yearlings and sheep as well as separate standards for lamb, yearling mutton and mutton carcasses. Quality grades describe expected palatability and maturity factors, while yield grades describe expected cutability. Neither replaces identity, weight, health, inspection, halal or other buyer-required evidence.
USDA NASS estimated 4.99 million U.S. sheep and lambs on January 1, 2026, including 3.61 million breeding and 1.38 million market animals. Livestock reports and mandatory transaction reporting can support price discovery, but a physical comparison still needs animal or meat class, live or carcass basis, weight and grade, location, quantity, currency, delivery terms and evidence vintage.
No. Lamb, yearling and mature sheep or mutton denote different age classes, and live animals, carcasses, cuts and wool are separate physical products.
USDA yield grades rank expected yields of boneless retail cuts. They are distinct from quality grades and do not establish the delivered price of a lot.
It is the USDA NASS estimate of all U.S. sheep and lamb inventory on January 1, 2026, not a global total or a physical price.
Age and use class, breed where relevant, live or processed form, live or carcass weight, quality and yield grade, health and inspection evidence, treatment or certification, packaging for meat, 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.