Sheep values are in the ascendancy with producers enjoying a larger slice of the pie, as the gap between farmgate prices and retail prices narrows.
Finished R3L carcases are pushing close to the 440p/kg peak achieved last spring and are 25% up on year-ago levels in response to tighter supplies.
The cull ewe trade is also booming, with older sheep regularly fetching over £100 a piece in the auction ring, and some of the largest, well-fleshed beasts even topping £150.
Not surprising then that, as with the beef trade last year, some farmers are tempted to sell their female sheep for slaughter, rather than retain them for breeding.
But this is all in stark contrast to the situation in the wool market, where values have slumped in the recession and collecting a fleece has become a loss-making activity...
According to industry figures, the price of wool last year averaged just 66p/kg, compared with 93p/kg in 1997. With a fleece weighing about 1.5kg, that means farmers have been receiving just £1 a fleece, compared with a shearing cost of around £1.40.
It is therefore timely that National Sheep Association should today (Tuesday) be launching The Wool Project, in association with HRH The Prince of Wales, to try and give the product a boost.
The aim is to promote the "green credentials" of wool and rebrand it as a fashionable material for clothes and carpets.
And there is no doubt that wool does indeed have such credentials. A report from the British Wool Marketing Board last year confirmed that wool has a much smaller "environmental footprint" than synthetic alternatives, and is more "sustainable" than polypropylene or nylon.
Prince Charles is therefore the right person to be fronting this part of the campaign, with his well-earned reputation for all things green. It also chimes with his enthusiasm for mutton as an environmentally-friendly meat.
But when it comes to the fashion side of things, I respectfully suggest it may be time for HRH to take a backseat.
Eco-warrior he may be, style icon he is not.
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