Wool and Mohair National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released March 26, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Wool and Mohair" call James Hand at 202-690-3236, office hours 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. 1997 Wool Production Down 5 Percent Shorn wool production in the United States during 1997 was 53.9 million pounds, down 5 percent from 1996. Sheep and lambs shorn totaled 7.03 million head, a decrease of 3 percent from 1996. The average price paid for wool sold in 1997 was $0.84 per pound for a total value of $45.2 million, up 14 percent from $39.7 million in 1996. Mohair production in the four major producing states (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) during 1997 was 6.93 million pounds, down 14 percent from 1996. Goats and kids clipped, at .95 million head, were down 20 percent from 1996. Average weight per clip was 7.3 pounds compared with 6.7 pounds a year earlier. Value of mohair was $15.6 million, up slightly from 1996. Wool: Production, Price, and Value, United States, 1995-97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Sheep : Weight : Shorn : Price : Year : Shorn : per : Wool : per : Value : 1/ : Fleece : Production : Pound : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Pounds 1,000 Pounds Dollars 1,000 Dollars : 1995 : 8,138 7.80 63,513 1.04 64,277 1996 : 7,279 7.79 56,669 0.70 39,659 1997 : 7,032 7.66 53,889 0.84 45,172 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes shearing at commercial feeding yards. Lv Gn 2 (3-98) Mohair: Production, Price, and Value, 4-State Total, 1995-97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Average : : Price : Year : Goats : Clip per : Production : per : Value : Clipped : Goat : : Pound : 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Pounds 1,000 Pounds Dollars 1,000 Dollars : 1995 : 1,618 7.4 12,019 1.84 22,089 1996 : 1,198 6.7 8,045 1.92 15,486 1997 : 953 7.3 6,929 2.25 15,563 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohair: Production, Price, and Value by Selected States and 4-State Total, 1996-97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Average : : : : Goats : Clip : : Price : : Clipped : per : Production : per : Value 1/ State : : Goat : : Pound : :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Pounds 1,000 Pounds Dollars 1,000 Dollars : AZ : 38 38 4.2 4.2 160 160 1.47 1.70 235 272 NM : 80 70 4.0 5.0 320 350 1.61 1.90 515 665 OK : 10 5 7.5 7.0 75 35 1.73 2.00 130 70 TX :1,070 840 7.0 7.6 7,490 6,384 1.95 2.28 14,606 14,556 : 4 Sts :1,198 953 6.7 7.3 8,045 6,929 1.92 2.25 15,486 15,563 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Production multiplied by marketing year average price for individual States; 4-State value is summation of State values. Wool: Number of Sheep and Lambs Shorn, Weight per Fleece, and Production by State and United States, 1996-97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Sheep Shorn : Weight per Fleece : Production State :----------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --- 1,000 Head --- --- Pounds --- 1,000 Pounds : AL : 5.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 30 30 AK : 1.0 1.0 7.0 7.0 7 7 AZ : 125.0 120.0 6.0 6.4 750 770 CA : 640.0 580.0 7.6 7.6 4,860 4,400 CO : 605.0 600.0 7.1 6.6 4,318 3,936 CT : 5.4 4.8 6.5 7.5 35 36 ID : 239.0 246.0 9.3 9.2 2,228 2,265 IL : 85.0 82.0 6.7 6.7 570 546 IN : 67.0 55.0 6.4 6.3 430 344 IA : 335.0 260.0 6.0 6.0 2,000 1,550 KS : 111.0 98.0 7.0 7.0 780 690 KY : 15.5 13.5 6.5 6.2 100 84 LA : 9.0 8.5 6.1 5.9 55 50 ME : 8.0 9.0 7.0 7.6 56 68 MD : 24.0 25.0 6.7 6.6 161 165 MA : 9.0 8.5 7.0 7.2 63 61 MI : 81.0 74.0 7.6 7.3 615 540 MN : 170.0 155.0 6.6 6.5 1,120 1,010 MO : 77.0 74.0 6.7 6.8 513 506 MT : 434.0 402.0 9.6 9.5 4,150 3,813 NE : 97.0 85.0 7.4 7.6 720 644 NV : 70.0 70.0 9.6 8.9 669 620 NH : 5.1 5.3 7.1 7.2 36 38 NJ : 14.0 11.0 6.9 6.7 96 74 NM : 305.0 280.0 9.0 9.1 2,753 2,556 NY : 53.0 51.0 7.1 6.7 377 343 NC : 10.6 9.7 6.7 6.4 71 62 ND : 110.0 98.0 8.8 8.8 965 860 OH : 133.0 116.0 6.8 6.4 910 745 OK : 36.0 43.0 6.4 7.1 230 305 OR : 340.0 290.0 6.6 6.5 2,245 1,880 PA : 72.0 68.0 6.9 6.9 500 470 SD : 420.0 390.0 8.5 8.5 3,580 3,302 TN : 10.0 11.0 6.0 6.1 60 67 TX : 1,320.0 1,500.0 7.5 7.3 9,900 10,950 UT : 336.0 308.0 9.2 9.4 3,090 2,905 VT : 14.5 10.5 7.2 7.2 105 76 VA : 56.0 53.0 6.2 6.0 346 319 WA : 48.0 43.0 8.9 8.7 426 375 WV : 45.0 40.0 6.0 6.0 270 240 WI : 63.0 67.0 7.5 7.4 470 496 WY : 640.0 625.0 9.1 8.8 5,811 5,485 : Oth Sts 1/ : 34.7 35.7 5.7 5.8 198 206 : US : 7,278.8 7,031.5 7.8 7.7 56,669 53,889 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ AR, DE, FL, GA, HI, MS, RI, and SC. Wool: Price and Value by State and United States, 1996-97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Price per Pound : Value 1/ State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Dollars ----- ---- 1,000 Dollars --- : AL : 0.38 0.48 11 14 AK : 0.90 1.00 6 7 AZ : 0.61 0.58 458 447 CA : 0.67 0.79 3,256 3,476 CO : 0.73 0.89 3,152 3,503 CT : 0.40 0.55 14 20 ID : 0.62 0.74 1,381 1,676 IL : 0.34 0.43 194 235 IN : 0.31 0.34 133 117 IA : 0.39 0.42 780 651 KS : 0.51 0.58 398 400 KY : 0.33 0.41 33 34 LA : 0.33 0.58 18 29 ME : 0.45 0.50 25 34 MD : 0.49 0.68 79 112 MA : 0.40 0.60 25 37 MI : 0.36 0.44 221 238 MN : 0.43 0.43 482 434 MO : 0.36 0.45 185 228 MT : 0.94 1.01 3,901 3,851 NE : 0.49 0.52 353 335 NV : 0.69 0.90 462 558 NH : 0.60 0.65 22 25 NJ : 0.78 0.55 75 41 NM : 0.85 1.07 2,340 2,735 NY : 0.55 0.54 207 185 NC : 0.62 0.59 44 37 ND : 0.70 0.76 676 654 OH : 0.39 0.43 355 320 OK : 0.50 0.58 115 177 OR : 0.45 0.61 1,010 1,147 PA : 0.49 0.53 245 249 SD : 0.77 0.90 2,757 2,972 TN : 0.42 0.50 25 34 TX : 0.84 1.06 8,316 11,607 UT : 0.65 0.75 2,009 2,179 VT : 0.60 0.65 63 49 VA : 0.48 0.58 166 185 WA : 0.60 0.65 256 244 WV : 0.51 0.61 138 146 WI : 0.42 0.53 197 263 WY : 0.86 0.98 4,997 5,375 : Oth Sts 2/ : 0.40 0.55 79 113 : US : 0.70 0.84 39,659 45,172 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Production multiplied by marketing year average price. U.S. value is summation of State values. 2/ AR, DE, FL, GA, MS, RI, SC. Reliability of Wool and Mohair Production Estimates Survey Procedures: A random sample of U. S. producers was surveyed to provide data for the number of sheep shorn and production estimates. Survey procedures ensured that all sheep and goat producers, regardless of size, had a chance to be included in the survey. Large producers were sampled more heavily than small operations. Data were collected from about 15,000 operators during the first half of January by mail, telephone, and face-to-face personal interviews. Estimation Procedures: These sheep shorn, wool and mohair production estimates were prepared by the Agricultural Statistics Board after reviewing recommendations and analysis submitted by each State office. National and State survey data were reviewed for reasonableness with each other and with estimates from past years. Revision Policy: Revisions to previous estimates are made to improve the current estimate. Previous year estimates are subject to revision when current estimates are made. Inventory estimates will also be reviewed after data from the Department of Agriculture's five-year Census of Agriculture are available. No revisions will be made after that date. Reliability: Since all operations raising sheep and goats are not included in the sample for the inventory and production estimates, survey data are subject to sampling variability. Survey results for inventory and production estimates are also subject to non-sampling errors, such as omissions, duplications, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. The effects of these errors cannot be measured directly. They are minimized through rigid quality controls in the data collection process and through a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. To assist users in evaluating the reliability of the estimates in this report, the "Root Mean Square Error" is shown for selected items in the table below. The "Root Mean Square Error" is a statistical measure based on past performance and is computed using the differences between first and latest estimates. The "Root Mean Square Error" for sheep shorn estimates over the past 10 years is 0.5 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 7.0 million head by more than 0.5 percent, or about 35,100 head. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 0.9 percent, or about 63,300 head (the 90 percent confidence level). Also shown in the table is a 10-year record showing the range between the first estimate and the latest estimate. Using estimates for Sheep and Lambs Shorn as an example, changes between the first inventory estimate and the latest estimate during the past 10 years have averaged 42,000 head, ranging from 0 to 105,000 head. The inventory estimate of Sheep and Lambs Shorn has been below the latest estimate 5 times and above 4 times in the last 10 years. Reliability of U.S. Sheep Shorn and Wool Production Estimates 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Difference Between : Years : Root : 90% : First and Latest :----------------- : Mean : Confidence : Estimates : First : First Item : Square : Level :--------------------------: Above : Below : Error : :Average :Smallest:Largest : Latest : Latest -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent ----------- 1,000 Head ---------- Number : Sheep : Shorn : 0.5 0.9 63.3 42.0 0.0 105.0 4 5 : : Percent ---------- 1,000 Pounds --------- Number : Wool : Prod : 0.6 1.1 593.0 358.0 0.0 1,307.0 4 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Based on data for the past ten years. The next "Wool and Mohair" report will be released in March 1999. 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