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Understand Idaho

Idaho sheep and lamb death loss

15,000 head

Sheep and lambs lost in Idaho, 2025 (estimate)

−3.2% since 2024 (15,500 head); −25.0% since 2015 (20,000 head); −25.0% since 2005 (20,000 head)

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Idaho Sheep and Lamb Death Loss and Cause of Death Surveys. Data period 2025. Status: estimate. Published .

Sheep (excluding lambs) plus lambs lost to all causes in the calendar year, after docking, as NASS Quick Stats publishes it.

Change and comparison

From 1988 (33,000 head) to 2025 (15,000 head), the change was −54.5%.

Over the most recent 5 years, 2020 (15,500 head) to 2025 (15,000 head), the change was −3.2%.

The latest figure, 2025, is the lowest in the series, which begins in 1988.

Coyotes is the largest category at 6,200 head; Unknown Causes is next at 5,600 head.

Historical data

Idaho sheep and lamb death loss, 1988 to 2025Idaho sheep and lamb death loss, 1988 to 2025. Idaho: 33,000 in 1988, 15,000 in 2025.010k20k30k40k20002020IdahoHeadIdaho sheep and lamb death loss, 1988 to 2025Idaho sheep and lamb death loss, 1988 to 2025. Idaho: 33,000 in 1988, 15,000 in 2025.010k20k30k40k1990200020102020IdahoHeadIdaho sheep and lamb death loss, 1988 to 2025Idaho sheep and lamb death loss, 1988 to 2025. Idaho: 33,000 in 1988, 15,000 in 2025.010k20k30k40k1990200020102020IdahoHead

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Idaho Sheep and Lamb Death Loss and Cause of Death Surveys. Published .

Data table (38 rows)
PeriodIdaho (head)
198833,000
198930,000
199029,000
199133,000
199229,000
199328,000
199430,000
199529,000
199628,000
199726,000
199824,000
199926,000
200025,000
200122,000
200223,000
200322,000
200422,000
200520,000
200619,000
200721,000
200816,000
200917,000
201017,000
201121,000
201221,000
201317,000
201416,000
201520,000
201618,000
201716,000
201816,000
201916,000
202015,500
202116,000
202215,000
202317,000
202415,500
202515,000

Death loss by cause

Sheep and lamb deaths (including lambs lost before docking) attributed to each cause, exactly as NASS names it in the Idaho cause-of-death survey for that year. Published only for survey years 2016, 2018, 2023 and 2025.

  1. Coyotes6,200
  2. Unknown Causes5,600
  3. Weather Conditions2,100
  4. Other Causes1,800
  5. Other/Unknown Predators1,300
  6. Lambing Complications1,200
  7. Old Age800
  8. Dogs700
  9. Enterotoxaemia700
  10. Disease500
  11. Poison300
  12. On Back200
  13. Ravens200
  14. Bears100
  15. Eagles100
  16. Foxes100
  17. Mountain Lions100

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Idaho Sheep and Lamb Death Loss and Cause of Death Surveys. Data period 2025. Published .

Data table (17 rows)
Cause2025 (head)
Coyotes6,200
Unknown Causes5,600
Weather Conditions2,100
Other Causes1,800
Other/Unknown Predators1,300
Lambing Complications1,200
Old Age800
Dogs700
Enterotoxaemia700
Disease500
Poison300
On Back200
Ravens200
Bears100
Eagles100
Foxes100
Mountain Lions100

Source

Organization
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
Dataset
Idaho Sheep and Lamb Death Loss and Cause of Death Surveys
Geography
Idaho
Time coverage
1988-2025 (annual totals); 2016, 2018, 2023, 2025 (cause surveys)
Update frequency
Annual (Quick Stats totals); irregular, at intervals of several years (cause surveys)
Published
Original file
https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET/
Methodology
https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/
License
Public domain. U.S. federal government work; USDA NASS survey data are not subject to copyright.
Our copy
Idaho Sheep and Lamb Death Loss and Cause of Death Surveys, built by scripts/fetch-nass-sheep-death-loss.py

Caveats

  • The annual series counts lamb deaths after docking only; cause surveys also count pre-docking losses, so a survey total runs higher (22,000 versus 15,000 in 2025).
  • Cause surveys are irregular, not annual; only 2016, 2018, 2023 and 2025 are published for Idaho.
  • Wolves are a separate category in 2016, 2018 and 2023; in 2025 NASS folds them into 'Other/Unknown Predators' with bobcats, not a fall to zero.
  • NASS states that 'Unknown Causes', 25.5 percent of 2025 deaths, may include some predator loss.
  • NASS rounds each cause to the nearest 100 and does not force totals to reconcile; a residual is not assigned its own category.

Cite

Cite this page as Understand Idaho, “Idaho sheep and lamb death loss”, https://understandidaho.com/land/sheep-death-loss/, retrieved on the date you read it, and the publisher named above for the figures themselves. The dataset behind it is described in the data catalog.

This page was last updated .