West Virginia University’s Sheep Management Project, in cooperation with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, recently received $38,500 to develop a comprehensive database for lamb marketing information in West Virginia.

The grant, awarded by the USDA under the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program, was one of 13 awarded to state departments of agriculture to support agricultural market research, improve marketing systems for food and agricultural products, and identify new market opportunities for farm products.

According to Deborah Marsh, director of the West Virginia Sheep Management Project, the emergence of specialty niche markets in the region has created new opportunities for marketing lambs.

“The ethnic markets in particular are important lamb markets in the Northeast. Many of these ethnic markets have increased demand around traditional religious celebrations and other special cultural, national and political observances, which occur throughout the year,”Marsh said

The fine dining and”natural foods”markets also show a great deal of growth potential in the region, she added.

The database developed by the grant money will be used to help characterize lamb production and supply in West Virginia, serve as a central clearinghouse for lamb market information, identify market outlets for West Virginia lambs, and provide a basis for evaluating regional marketing opportunities and for developing effective marketing strategies.

For additional information on the West Virginia Sheep Management Project, visit them on the web athttp://www.cafcs.wvu.edu/avs/sheep/.