More than 218,000 sheep/goats sold

More than 218,000 sheep and goats were sold at the New Holland Sales Stables in New Holland, Pennsylvania in 2017. About 57 percent of the sales were sheep; 43 percent were goats. New Holland is one of the largest and most important sheep and goat markets in the US. All of the animals were sold to non-traditional markets, as the sale barn is in close proximity to the ethnic markets in the Northeast.

As expected, sheep and goat receipts were highest in the sales preceding various religious holidays. A special sheep and goat sale was held August 28-30 (Monday-Wednesday), immediately prior to the Muslim Festival of the Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha). During this 3-day sale, sheep receipts totaled 7323 head, with lambs accounting for 80% of the sales total. Goat receipts totaled 3834 head; 63% were kid goats. The previous week's sale (August 21) featured the second largest run of the year: 4334 sheep and 3290 goats. The other slighter larger sales of the year occurred in the sales preceding Easter (April 16) and Christmas (December 25). As expected, most of the smaller sales were in the first quarter of the year, when fewer lambs/kids are typically available.