NORTH DAKOTA JANUARY 1 SHEEP INVENTORYFARGO, N.D. January 31, 2017 – All sheep and lamb inventory in North Dakota on January 1, 2017totaled 66 thousand head, down 7,000 head from last year, according to the USDA’s NationalAgricultural Statistics Service.Breeding sheep inventory totaled 52 thousand head, down 1,000 from last year. Ewes one year and older totaled 42 thousand head, down 2,000 head from 2016. Rams one year and older remained unchanged from last year’s 2,000 head. Total replacement lambs was 8,000 head, up 1,000 head from last year.Market sheep and lambs totaled 14 thousand head, down 6,000 head from last year. A total of1,000 head were mature sheep (one year and older) while the remaining 13 thousand were under one year. Market lamb weight groups were estimated as follows: 1,000 lambs were under 65 pounds;4,000 were 65-84 pounds; 3,000 were 85-105 pounds; 5,000 were over 105 pounds.The 2016 lamb crop totaled 51 thousand head, up 1,000 from 2015. The 2016 lambing rate was116 per 100 ewes one year and older, compared with 119 per 100 ewes in 2015. Shorn wool production during 2016 was at 430 thousand pounds, down 55 thousand pounds from 2015. Sheep and lambs shorn totaled 59 thousand head, down 5,000 head from last year. The average price paid for wool sold in 2016 was $1.13 per pound, compared with $1.28 in 2015. The total value of wool produced in North Dakota was 486 thousand dollars in 2016