Today, there are approximately 80,000 sheep ranches and farms in the United States that produce about 200 million pounds of lamb each year for the U.S. market. The vast majority of sheep operations are family owned and operated. Sheep are raised in every state in the country. Leading lamb producing states are California, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota.
Roughly 40% of American lamb is sold into foodservice and 60% into retail. Lamb imports from Australia and New Zealand represent approximately 50% of total lamb supplies in the U.S. Per capita consumption of lamb in the U.S. has remained fairly flat over the past 10 years at approximately one pound per person. The highest consumption of lamb is in the Northeast and California.