FRANKLIN, Ind. — What do American immigrants and teenage girls have in common? Both are driving an unprecedented demand for American lamb, wool and sheepskin, a thriving domestic market not reliant on foreign demand or trade agreements.

From the lamb and wool processing level, there is a growing concern about meeting the demand for lamb and wool production in the United States. 

“The U.S. is currently not on track to meet the increased domestic demand,” said Peter Orwick, executive director of the American Sheep Industry Assoc. “By 2014, we need to increase production by 315,000 more lambs and 2 million more pounds of wool.”

The growth is spurred by several factors.

Non-traditional markets – including on-farm sales, farmers markets and small processors serving ethnic groups – are rapidly growing. Those markets now supply 30 percent of the total industry market, largely due to Mexican and Muslim immigrants.

Health-conscious American consumers are also driving the market for lamb, which needs no injected hormones or growth promotants. “People appreciate the natural production methods,” Orwick said.

Two major announcements by food retailing giants in 2011 are keeping the demand high. Kroger announced an American lamb branding campaign, and Walmart announced it will carry only American- raised lamb in its meat cases.

Kroger carries 60 percent of U.S. lamb, and also introduced packaging that provides a 30-day shelf life.

Driving the wool market is the U.S. military – the largest domestic consumer of American wool – plus the arrival in the United States of equipment to make washable wool. China remains the largest export market for U.S. wool.

So, where do teen-age girls fit into this picture? Sheepskin pelts skyrocketed to historical high prices when sheepskin boots came on the scene.

“Walk in to any department store and you will see 15 styles of sheepskin boots, at $150 to $200,” Orwick said.

Orwick and other ASI representatives were at the Poe sheep farm in Franklin to challenge sheep producers to grow their flocks and encourage new producers to get into the business. The visit was part of a cross-country tour to promote the industry, with sessions already completed in Iowa and Minnesota and several more on the agenda.

“There is so much in feed resources in this part of the world,” he said of the midwestern states. “If you’re looking to diversify, it’s a great fit. Sheep can graze on unharvested forages and effectively turn it into protein.”

Industry leaders also tout the benefit of family-friendliness in the sheep business. With low maintenance, sheep producers often have off-farm jobs while spouses and children can be more hands-on with care of smaller animals.

Out-of-production land can be grazed without an expensive bushhog and fuel cost, and most existing farms have the needed facilities with perhaps the exception of new fencing.

Lance Lumpkin of Hagerstown, Ind., was raised on a hog farm but got in the sheep business 13 years ago. “I knew nothing about sheep,” he said, “but the low overhead got me started. They are not labor intensive.”

He keeps 60 ewes on 12 acres of pasture with the rotational grazing system and supplements with hay and grain. The venture allows him to work his full-time job as a sales associate with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Scott and Wendy Fellers of Crawfordville, Ind., are third-generation sheep farmers, working part-time at the business and keeping 30 to 50 head a year. Wendy sells directly to restaurants and farmers markets where she gets premium prices for her products.

“Three dollars a pound for lamb is a good motivator,” she said.

Wendy also takes a keen interest in another sheep end product. She attends fiber conventions and workshops, bought a spinning wheel, and taught herself to spin, weave and knit.

Stanley Poe describes the sheep farm he runs with his father Stan as a “4-H project out of control.” Stan bought 10 registered Hampshire ewes in 1945 as a 4-H project; the farm now grazes 500 pregnant ewes and 500 replacement ewes.

With his years of experience in the business, Stan cites the influx of Hispanic and Muslim immigrants coming from sheep-eating nations in driving up demand.

“Here we sit with tremendous opportunity based on those two factors,” he said. “It’s up to those of us in the business to step up and crank up supply.”

The ASI has set the goal of “2 Plus 2” for sheep producers with three goals:

•Increase flock size by two ewes per operation or two ewes per 100;

•Increase average birth rate per ewe to two lambs per year;

•Increase the harvested lamb crop by 2 percent.

For more information, go to www.growourflock.org