SHEEP TRIVIA
Archaeological evidence suggests that sheep were domesticated about 11,000 years ago.
Lamb is a very ancient food, and sheep were probably domesticated about 12,000 years ago. There is positive evidence they were domesticated by 8900 B.C. in Iraq and Romania. Some of the oldest traditional recipes come from Greece and date back several thousand years.
The worldwide population of sheep today is over 1 billion, and is considered one of the most valuable of all the domestic animals. Wild forms of sheep are found in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.
There are more than 70,000 sheep farms in the U.S., and they produce over 300 million pounds of lamb each year.
In 1838 there were 1.6 million sheep in Vermont and 292,000 people.
The top 5 sheep producing states are Texas, California, Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota.
There are more than 900 different breeds of sheep, 47 breeds and types of sheep in the U.S.
It is said that New Zealand has 3 million people and 60 million sheep.
In 2002 American meat packers produced 222 million pounds of lamb and mutton. american meat institute
New Zealand has a population of about 3.3 million people and about 46 million sheep. (2000).
National Turkey Federation
Per Capita Consumption of Sheep in U.S.
• (2003): 1.2 lbs
Top 5 Sheep Countries: (2000).
• China - 131 million
• Australia - 117 million
• India - 58 million
• Iran - 55 million
• New Zealand 45 1/2 million
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