The Great Sheep Boom of 1897
As drought devastates Australian herds, Northwest sheepmen anticipate a massive windfall in wool and mutton prices.
Sheep men of the Northwest are alive to the fact that sheep husbandry is destined to make great strides. Flocks will be doubled to meet the demand for wool and mutton. The American consul to New South Wales reports a loss of 9,000,000 sheep in that province and estimates that the total loss during the year will not be far from 25,000,000. If this be true, there is a very bright future in store for the sheep men in the United States for several years to come. The Australian countries have been our greatest competitors in the production of wool, but two great obstacles in their way are rabbits and drouth. Armour, Swift and other packers are speculating heavily in mutton, scouring the ranges and taking up thousands of sheep in anticipation of higher prices. Their actions have helped to boom prices.
“The sheep business is booming; everybody wants sheep now.”
This article captures the volatile, global nature of the livestock market at the turn of the century, where a drought in the Southern Hemisphere could trigger a gold-rush mentality in the Yakima Valley. Today, the region's agricultural economy remains similarly tethered to international climate events and global supply chains, though the focus has shifted from wool to high-value orchard crops.
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