Sheep raising has been a common farming activity throughout history. Specially raised breeding specimens often became a source of pride for their owners. As in the rest of the world, sheep farming in Russia is profitable. After all, this type of small cattle can produce wool, meat, and milk. It is quite easy to care for - setting up pens does not require large financial investments, and pasture can be stored throughout the warm season.
Industry Trends
The direction of development of sheep farming is directly dependent on consumer requirements. With the beginning of the use of cotton fabric, sheep's wool ceased to be in demand. This is all due to the final cost of products made from these materials. However, for the same reason, this industry is striving for stabilization, as prices for sheep wool are rising.
In order for sheep farming in Russia to remain at an acceptable level, it needs support at the state level. The prospect of a policy of predominance of own products is obvious - the demand for products obtained from these animals will increase. Their use in the medical, cosmetology and modeling fields is also visible.
Number of sheep in Russia
Until 2019, the number of small ruminants in Russia was gradually declining. From 22.6 million in 2016 to 20.6 million in 2019.
Rice. 1. Number of sheep in Russia in 2001-2018. and forecast for 2019
But, as you know, two types of animals fall into this category - sheep and goats. There is no detailed data on the quantity of each species separately; Rosstat does not carry out such calculations. However, the approximate number of sheep is 91.5%.
Interestingly, for 2019-2025. There is a whole strategy to increase the number of small livestock.
Sheep play a dominant role here. After 2015, 400 Dutch Texel animals were brought into the country. They are distributed among certified farms, which are subject to a special requirement - an increase in the number of animals by 200 per year.These sheep are raised in the same conditions as domestic ones. At the moment, the growth is gaining momentum.
Livestock structure
Each small livestock farm belongs to one of two sectors:
- Commercial. It accounts for about 53% of the total number of animals. In this sector, sheep are raised for business purposes. Any agricultural or farming enterprise is a commercial enterprise.
- Private. Such farmsteads where sheep are kept are common throughout the country. Farmers raise animals for their own needs and are not registered as entrepreneurs.
In recent years, commercial sheep have seen a slightly larger increase in sheep numbers. But this is happening due to the spread of interest in the products that these animals can provide, and the registration of new entrepreneurial farms by farmers.
Geographical distribution
The area where sheep are raised is quite extensive. However, for each direction in which commercial livestock farming is developed, there is its own area with certain climatic conditions. In mountainous regions, coarse-wool and meat and dairy production predominate.
Areas that have a mild climate, such as the Volga region, produce predominantly semi-fine-fleece rocks. Due to the presence of succulent pasture, the wool is of excellent quality. Subjects of the country located in Siberia give preference to meat products. There are large spaces there, which has a positive effect on maintaining the number of sheep.
Breeding
Domestic sheep breeding is constantly carrying out breeding work, since it is necessary for breeding new, more profitable, from the point of view of the consumer, breeds of sheep.In general, this industry is self-sufficient - therefore there is no need to import any new breeds from abroad.
The breeding register of Russia is distinguished by the presence of the following sheep groups:
- coarse-haired (Edilbayevskaya, Tushino, short-fat-tailed Tuva, Romanov, Lezgin, Karachay, fat-tailed Kalmyk, Buryat, Andean and Agin breeds);
- smushkovo-milk (Karakul breed);
- semi-fine fleece (Tsigean, North Caucasian, Gorno-Altai, Soviet meat-wool, Texel, Kuibyshev, southern and Tashlin meat breeds);
- fine-fleece (Stavropol, Soviet merino, Salsk, Manych merino, Kulunda, fine-fleece Caucasian, fine-fleece Transbaikal, mountain Dagestan, Grozny and Volgograd breeds).
How much small ruminant meat was produced in Russia
The mechanization of the processes of keeping small ruminants and producing meat from them has made it possible to increase the production of lamb. In 2019, a little more than 7,300 tons of meat were produced. At the same time, the annual growth of this indicator is predicted to be 2-3% per year.
However, the top three leading regions in which sheep meat is produced have remained unchanged over the years (the numbers indicate the percentage of the total state volume):
- Stavropol Territory (12%);
- Republic of Kalmykia (9.3%);
- Republic of Dagestan (7.3%).
Rice. 2. Sheep meat production in Russia in 2019
Import of lamb to Russia
In recent years, there has been a decline in imports of sheep meat to Russia from other countries. Since 2008, when 17.2 tons of lamb were imported into our country, a regular decrease in the import of this product has been recorded. According to Rosstat, in 2019 this figure was approximately 3.7 tons.
Livestock farming in general (as well as sheep farming in particular) is gaining popularity among farmers in our country. Therefore, experts predict that in the future Russia’s self-sufficiency in the meat of these animals will be 98%. It should also be mentioned that increasing the production of lamb allows it to be exported to the foreign market, which leads to an improvement in the economic situation of the country.
