"By the late nineteenth century, Americans rich and poor had come to expect high-quality fresh beef with almost every meal. Beef production in the United States had gone from small-scale, localized operations to a highly centralized industry spanning the country, with cattle bred on ranches in the rural West, slaughtered in Chicago, and consumed in the nation's rapidly growing cities. Red Meat Republic tells the remarkable story of the violent conflict over who would reap the benefits of this new industry and who would bear its heavy costs"--

The U.S. sheep industry is complex, multifaceted, and rooted in history and tradition. The dominant feature of sheep production in the United States, and, thus, the focus of much producer and policy concern, has been the steady decline in sheep and lamb inventories since the mid-1940s. Although often described as "an industry in decline," this report concludes that a better description of the current U.S. sheep industry is "an industry in transition."

The U.S. sheep industry is complex, multifaceted, and rooted in history and tradition. The dominant feature of sheep production in the United States, and, thus, the focus of much producer and policy concern, has been the steady decline in sheep and lamb inventories since the mid-1940s. Although often described as "an industry in decline," this report concludes that a better description of the current U.S. sheep industry is "an industry in transition."

Beef markets in the U.S. are rapidly changing as alternative production systems and technologies evolve in response to consumer demands and compete with conventional grain-fed beef production. Beef produced through distinguishable systems results in products with different marketable attributes that may attract price premiums, for ex., claims relating to input and other resource use, environental impacts, animal welfare, slaughter/processing infrastructure and efficiencies, and providing continuous supplies of safe products. Markets are rapidly changing as consumers demand various combinations of these attributes in their beef products and as science and consumer knowledge converge. This report explores the market outlook implications of these changes by examining the specific production technologies behind alternative production systems and products. Figures and tables. This is a print on demand report.