By Jason Vance

The American Lamb Board is reporting strong market growth for the sheep industry and is shifting additional resources toward education and research to help expand domestic lamb production.

David Fischer, vice chairman of the American Lamb Board, said recently released second-quarter reports show significant gains in both sales dollars and volume.

“Our quarter two reports for this past year show a 17% dollar growth and 12% volume growth,” Fischer said. “Across the last year, we’re seeing about 11% growth in both of those categories, which is phenomenal news.”

Fischer said the results demonstrate that promotional investments are paying off for the industry.

“As the promotional arm of the sheep industry, our dollars are really working for us, and we’re getting what we want out of them,” he said.

While promotion will continue to make up the majority of the board’s budget, Fischer said the organization plans to increase funding for education and research as it enters the new fiscal year. Promotion currently accounts for about 65% of the board’s spending.

“Our numbers have been fairly stagnant for a lot of years,” Fischer said. “If promotion is doing great and consumers love lamb, we need to grow the industry and put more lamb in front of them.”

To address that goal, the American Lamb Board is rolling out several new education initiatives aimed at producers of all sizes. One of the largest efforts is a new online platform called Sheep IQ, which will consolidate educational resources for sheep producers.

“Anyone from a beginning sheep producer to a fifth-generation operation can get the information they need,” Fischer said. “It’s about best practices and helping them grow their flock and raise sheep better.”

The board is also expanding its targeted grazing workshops, an area Fischer said is seeing growth nationwide. Sheep are increasingly used for vegetation management on solar farms, vineyards and in municipalities.

“Sheep are a hot topic with targeted grazing,” Fischer said. “We want to teach producers how to do it right, how to put their best foot forward and how to raise sheep in a way that delivers a product consumers want.”

Regional workshops will also continue, particularly aimed at small producers managing flocks of 50 to 100 head.

“If we can help those producers grow from 50 to 100 head, that’s a significant jump for the industry,” Fischer said.

On the promotional side, Fischer said the board will continue and refine existing efforts to encourage consumers to try lamb. The Lamb Jam program, held in major markets across the country, features lamb dishes at dozens of restaurants and highlights the product throughout the month-long events.

The board is also partnering with Homemade, an online and television cooking platform that showcases lamb recipes and cooking techniques.

“They do a phenomenal job,” Fischer said. “You can learn how to cook lamb alongside a chef.”

In addition, the American Lamb Board continues to work with chefs, nutritionists, influencers and retailers to promote American lamb. Fischer said partnerships with retailers such as Kroger and Walmart remain a priority.

“They have a commitment to American lamb, and we want to support and strengthen programs through those retailers,” he said.