How is sheep useful to us
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Wool is the most valuable by-product of meat animal production. It is by far the most used natural animal fiber for fabrics. It is a reliable and increasingly versatile fiber that, when woven into cloth, contributes to warmth and an attractive appearance.
Wool has been used for clothing and other fabrics for over twelve thousand years. Today, essentially every wardrobe contains woolen garments, plus garments that contain wool along with some other natural and or synthetic fiber.
The U.S. wool industry today is small compared to that of the leading countries of Australia and New Zealand. For example, Australia traditionally maintains a sheep population of more than 120 million sheep, with production of over a billion pounds of scoured wool annually. The small country of New Zealand ranks second, with an annual production that approaches almost 50 million sheep and 470 million pounds of scoured wool.
*Scoured wool- refers to wool that has undergone a cleaning process that removes the grease and foreign material.
In contrast, the number of sheep shorn in the United States in 2000 totaled about 6.43 million head and raw wool production amounted to about 28 million pounds on a scoured wool basis. Today’s U.S. wool production is about one-third of the total produced in 1970. This is primarily due to the fact that American consumers favor a meat-type lamb and breeding animals have been selected primarily for meat rather than wool production.
Wool has been used for clothing and other fabrics for over twelve thousand years. Today, essentially every wardrobe contains woolen garments, plus garments that contain wool along with some other natural and or synthetic fiber.
The U.S. wool industry today is small compared to that of the leading countries of Australia and New Zealand. For example, Australia traditionally maintains a sheep population of more than 120 million sheep, with production of over a billion pounds of scoured wool annually. The small country of New Zealand ranks second, with an annual production that approaches almost 50 million sheep and 470 million pounds of scoured wool.
*Scoured wool- refers to wool that has undergone a cleaning process that removes the grease and foreign material.
In contrast, the number of sheep shorn in the United States in 2000 totaled about 6.43 million head and raw wool production amounted to about 28 million pounds on a scoured wool basis. Today’s U.S. wool production is about one-third of the total produced in 1970. This is primarily due to the fact that American consumers favor a meat-type lamb and breeding animals have been selected primarily for meat rather than wool production.
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