Sheep breeding in Russia: in which regions is it developed and breeding map

Sheep breeding has been a common farming activity at all times. Specially grown, breeding specimens often became the pride of the owners. As in the rest of the world, it is profitable to engage in sheep breeding in Russia. After all, this type of small cattle can give wool, meat, milk. It is quite easy to care for him - the device of corrals does not require large financial investments, and pasture can be stored throughout the warm season.

Industry trends

The direction of development of sheep breeding is directly dependent on consumer requirements.With the beginning of the use of cotton fabric, sheep's wool ceased to be in demand. It's all the fault of the final cost of products made from these materials. However, for the same reason, the industry is looking to stabilize as the price of sheep's wool has risen.

In order for sheep breeding in Russia to remain at an acceptable level, it needs support at the state level. The prospect of a policy of dominance of own products on the face - the demand for products obtained from these animals will grow. Their use in the medical, cosmetic and modeling fields is also visible.

In our time, the predominant direction is fine-wool breeds. Their wool is soft, delicate, light and warm.

Sheep population in Russia

Until 2022-2023, the number of small cattle in Russia was gradually declining. From 22.6 million in 2016 to 20.6 million in 2022-2023.

Fig. 1. Number of sheep in Russia in 2001-2022-2023 and forecast for 2022-2023

But, as you know, this category includes two types of animals - sheep and goats. There are no detailed data on the number of each type separately - Rosstat does not carry out such calculations. However, the approximate number of sheep is 91.5%.

It is interesting that for 2022-2023-2025. there is a whole strategy to increase the number of small cattle.

Sheep take the leading role in this. Since 2015, 400 Dutch texels have been brought into the country. They were distributed among certified farms, to which a special requirement is put forward - an increase in the number of heads by 200 per year. These sheep are grown in the same conditions as domestic ones. At the moment, the growth is gaining momentum.

Structure of livestock

Each small ruminant farm belongs to one of two sectors:

Commercial. It accounts for about 53% of the total number of animals. Sheep are bred for business purposes in this sector. Any agricultural or farm enterprise is commercial.
Private. Such farmsteads, where sheep are kept, are common throughout the country. Farmers raise animals for their own use and are not registered as entrepreneurs.

In recent years, there has been a slightly larger increase in the number of sheep in the commercial sector. But this is due to the spread of interest in the products that these animals can provide, and the registration of new business enterprises by farmers.

Geographic distribution

The territory for growing sheep is quite extensive. However, for each direction in which commercial animal husbandry is developed, there is a region with certain climatic conditions. Coarse-haired and meat-and-milk trends predominate in the mountainous regions.

Regions that have a mild climate, such as the Volga region, are mainly engaged in semi-fine-wool breeds. Due to the presence of juicy pasture, the wool is of excellent quality. The subjects of the country located in Siberia prefer meat products. There are large spaces there, which has a positive effect on maintaining the number of sheep.

Breeding

Domestic sheep breeding is constantly conducting breeding work, as it is necessary to develop 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 tribal register of Russia is distinguished by the presence of the following sheep groups:

smushkovo-milk (karakul breed);

How much small horned meat was produced in Russia

Mechanization of the processes of keeping small cattle and the production of meat from it has increased the production of lamb. In 2022-2023, a little more than 7300 tons of meat were produced. At the same time, an annual growth of this indicator by 2-3% per year is predicted.

However, the top three sheep meat producing regions have remained the same over the years (numbers indicate the percentage of total state production):

Stavropol Territory (12%);
Republic of Kalmykia (9.3%);
Republic of Dagestan (7.3%).

Fig. 2. Sheep meat production in Russia in 2022-2023

Import lamb meat 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 2022-2023 this figure was approximately 3.7 tons.

Livestock in general (as well as sheep breeding in particular) is gaining popularity among farmers in our country.Therefore, experts predict that in the future Russia will be self-sufficient in the meat of these animals at the level of 98%. It should also be mentioned that the increase in the production of mutton makes it possible to export it to the foreign market, which leads to an improvement in the economic situation of the country.