WASHINGTON—Small ruminants are a growing presence on Virginia farms, according to a recently-released national survey.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service’s annual Sheep and Goats report indicated slight growth in the U.S. sheep and lamb inventory—from 5.03 million head in 2024 to 5.05 million head in 2025.

National efforts to grow the sheep flock and “extremely strong” market prices could explain recent inventory gains, according to Scott Greiner, Virginia Cooperative Extension beef and sheep specialist.

“And in Virginia, we’re fortunate to be in very close proximity to strong ethnic markets, which makes our marketplace even stronger,” he noted.

Virginia’s sheep and lamb inventory grew 1% from 79,000 head in 2024 to 80,000 head in 2025. Meanwhile, the value of Virginia wool decreased by 34% from 2023 to 2024.

“Wool prices are a big challenge to us in the sheep industry,” Greiner explained. “There’s been an effort in the last couple of years to maintain some level of value through collaborative marketing.”

Nelson County farmer Mark Campbell brings his wool to a centralized “wool pool” in Augusta County, but a “very limited” number of buyers presents challenges.

“It’s not really a competitive market—you take what you can get,” he remarked.

With limited availability of shearers and other market challenges, hair sheep are driving nearly all growth in the industry, noted Lee Wright, superintendent and senior research associate of the Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center. The Southwest AREC is a key site for hair sheep research at Virginia Tech.

Easier maintenance, enhanced parasite resistance and other desirable traits are fueling interest in hair sheep breeds—especially among beginning farmers with small acreages.

“And with the ethnic market growing, those hair sheep lambs are pretty desirable—they can meet that market weight pretty rapidly,” Wright explained. “From a consumption standpoint, the ethnic market is really what pushes the small ruminant side of things.”

Virginia’s meat and other goats and kids inventory also grew slightly from 34,000 head in 2024 to 35,000 head in 2025.

Lamb and goat consumption typically peaks around ethnic holidays, with most following a lunar calendar.

“The tricky part is figuring out when the best opportunities to market these animals are, because that ethnic holiday window is a moving target every year,” Wright noted.

While lamb consumption has remained relatively flat over the years, the U.S. Lamb Checkoff program directed by the American Lamb Board focuses on quality assurance with the intent to grow demand in the meat case.

Additionally, the rapid expansion of solar development and its relationship to the sheep industry is a topic of interest among producers nationally, as many developers explore using sheep to manage solar site vegetation.

“I think in the short term, one of the things it can do is increase demand for sheep, and we’re seeing some of that,” Greiner remarked. “But how that will influence the sheep industry in the long term remains to be seen.”

Media: Contact Greiner at 540-230-2680, Campbell at 804-366-3858, or Wright at 276-698-6079.