Demand for lamb rockets

I don't know about you, but I have almost given up buying lamb. A leg is just so expensive now.

Interesting story in the Country Leader (sadly not on-line) about the changing nature of the sheep industry. The combination of drought and low wool prices has led to a dramatic fall in sheep numbers from 130 million in 1994/95 to around 67.7 million today. This is a one hundred year low.

Now both wool and sheep meat prices are up, producers face a real dilemma in terms of keeping sheep for breeding and wool or to sell their lambs for the meat trade.

Global demand for lamb continues to increase. In the circumstances, I fear that lamb is going to continue to be a luxury so far as most of us are concerned.