STATEMENT OF EDWIN E. MARSH, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF NATIONAL WOOL GROWERS ASSOCIATION, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I would like to request that this statement be included in the record as a supplement to the testimony presented for our organization by our president, Mr. Don Clyde, before your subcommittee on February 11, 1958. This supplementary information was not available at the hearings on February 11 and 12 but was released by the United States Department of Agriculture on February 14 in its annual publication Livestock and Poultry Inventory, January 1, 1958, Number, Value and Classes. One of the important goals of the National Wool Act is increased production of domestic wool. I am pleased to say that this report of the United States Department of Agriculture confirms the predictions made in the statement which Mr. Don Clyde presented, that increases in sheep numbers and, consequently, increases in wool production are on the way. With the cessation of a serious drought a few months back in the large sheep producing areas of the Nation, it is heartening to know that the stock sheep population on the farms and ranches of the United States, as of January 1, 1958, is 27,390,000 head, an increase of 852,000 head, or 3 percent larger than the same date a year ago. This is the largest inventory since January 1, 1953. Of even greater significance, however, is the fact that ewe lamb numbers increased sharply to 4,347,000 head, which is a gain of 16 percent from a year earlier and is also the highest level since January 1, 1952. The fact that more ewe lambs are being held for breeding and for future production is further confirmed by the reduction in the number of lambs on feed for market this winter. Numbers on feed shown an 8 percent reduction from a year earlier, the lowest number to be fed in 7 years. If it had not been for the National Wool Act, many of these ewe lambs would have gone directly to slaughter or would have reached slaughter in a few months following their fattening in feed lots. The extension of the National Wool Act will provide the needed incentive for holding these ewe lambs on our farms and ranches and will assure that they will be bred next fall and winter for production of lambs in 1959.. The very significant 16 percent gain in ewe lamb numbers on our farms and ranches this winter means a substantial increase in our sheep inventory for 1959 and 1960. In closing, I should like to request that the statements and figures concerning sheep numbers, contained in the Department report named above, be included in the record and made a part of my statement. Thank you. SHEEP Stock sheep and lambs on farms and ranches January 1, 1958, are estimated at 27,390,000 head. This is 3 percent more than the 26,538,000 head a year earlier and the largest inventory number since January 1, 1953. All sheep and lambs, including those on feed, totaled 31,328,000 head, up 2 percent from January 1, 1957. Sheep and lambs on feed declined 8 percent to 3,938,000 head, the lowest number in 7 years. Ewe lamb numbers increased sharply to 4,347,000 head, a gain of 16 percent from a year earlier and reached the highest level since January 1, 1952. Ewes and rams 1 year old and older increased 1 percent and 3 percent, respectively. Wether and ram lambs declined 3 percent. Stock sheep numbers were up 3 percent from a year earlier in the 11 Western States, Texas and South Dakota. This group of States registered a gain for the first time in 6 years. The native States, with a 4 percent increase, continued to expand their sheep numbers. In Texas, the leading sheep State, stock sheep numbers rose to 4,700,000 head, an increase of 5 percent during the year. Inventories were also up in 7 other Western States and in 21 of the 35 native States. The North Central States showed the largest percentage increase, led by Iowa with a 20 percent increase. The total value of stock sheep on farms and ranches January 1, 1958, was $530 million, 34 percent above a year earlier and compares with the record high of $783 million in 1952. The average value per head on January 1, was $19.40 compared with $14.90 a year earlier and the average of $17.50. |