Livestock Slaughter
ISSN: 0499-0544
Released September 21, 2023, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
Commercial Red Meat Production Down 3 Percent from Last Year
August 2022 contained 23 weekdays (including 0 holidays) and 4 Saturdays.
August 2023 contained 23 weekdays (including 0 holidays) and 4 Saturdays.
Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.67 billion
pounds in August, down 3 percent from the 4.83 billion pounds produced in
August 2022.
Beef production, at 2.36 billion pounds, was 6 percent below the previous
year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.89 million head, down 6 percent from August
2022. The average live weight was up 3 pounds from the previous year, at
1,351 pounds.
Veal production totaled 4.2 million pounds, 9 percent below August a year
ago. Calf slaughter totaled 26,600 head, down 22 percent from August 2022.
The average live weight was up 31 pounds from last year, at 273 pounds.
Pork production totaled 2.29 billion pounds, down slightly from the previous
year. Hog slaughter totaled 11.1 million head, up 1 percent from August 2022.
The average live weight was down 4 pounds from the previous year, at
278 pounds.
Lamb and mutton production, at 10.5 million pounds, was down 10 percent from
August 2022. Sheep slaughter totaled 183,800 head, 1 percent above last year.
The average live weight was 113 pounds, down 14 pounds from August a year
ago.
January to August 2023 commercial red meat production was 36.1 billion
pounds, down 2 percent from 2022. Accumulated beef production was down
4 percent from last year, veal was down 11 percent, pork was up 1 percent
from last year, and lamb and mutton production was down 2 percent.
This page intentionally left blank.
Contents
Commercial Red Meat Production - United States........................................ 4
Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States............................... 4
Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States........................... 5
Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States............................. 6
Commercial Cattle Slaughter - States and United States: August 2022 and 2023.......... 7
Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: August 2022 and 2023............ 8
Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: August 2022 and 2023............. 9
Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: August 2022 and 2023.. 10
Livestock Slaughtered Under Federal Inspection by Class - United States............... 11
Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States......... 11
Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: August 2023................ 12
Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: January to August 2023..... 13
Federally Inspected Slaughter Percent of Total Commercial Slaughter - United States... 13
Terms and Definitions Used for Livestock Slaughter Estimates.......................... 14
Statistical Methodology............................................................... 15
Information Contacts.................................................................. 16
Commercial Red Meat Production - United States
[Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : August 2023 as % of : January to August
: August : July : August :----------------------------------------------------
Type : 2022 : 2023 : 2023 : August : July : : :2023 as %
: : : : 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023 : of 2022
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent
:
Beef .............: 2,506.0 2,107.9 2,363.4 94 112 18,848.7 18,003.1 96
Veal .............: 4.7 3.8 4.2 91 112 36.1 32.0 89
Pork .............: 2,303.8 2,006.8 2,294.9 100 114 17,817.4 17,964.7 101
Lamb and mutton ..: 11.7 9.5 10.5 90 111 88.2 86.3 98
:
Total red meat ...: 4,826.2 4,128.1 4,673.2 97 113 36,790.3 36,086.2 98
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States
[Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : August 2023 as % of : January to August
: August : July : August :----------------------------------------------------
Type : 2022 : 2023 : 2023 : August : July : : :2023 as %
: : : : 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023 : of 2022
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent
:
Beef .............: 2,466.9 2,077.2 2,329.4 94 112 18,543.7 17,725.5 96
Veal .............: 4.5 3.6 4.1 90 112 35.1 31.1 89
Pork .............: 2,291.1 1,996.8 2,282.4 100 114 17,735.3 17,885.0 101
Lamb and mutton ..: 10.3 8.1 8.9 87 111 77.9 76.3 98
:
Total red meat ...: 4,772.8 4,085.8 4,624.9 97 113 36,392.0 35,717.8 98
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States
[Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : August : January to August
: August : July : August : 2023 as % :--------------------------------------------
Species : 2022 : 2023 : 2023 : of 2022 : : : 2023 as %
: : : : : 2022 : 2023 : of 2022
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent percent
:
Cattle :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 3,018.9 2,553.6 2,840.7 94 22,491.6 21,674.9 96
Other ................1,000: 57.3 44.2 49.2 86 443.5 404.6 91
Commercial ...........1,000: 3,076.1 2,597.8 2,889.9 94 22,935.1 22,079.5 96
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 1,351 1,346 1,353 100 1,369 1,360 99
Other ...............pounds: 1,205 1,225 1,212 101 1,213 1,214 100
Commercial ..........pounds: 1,348 1,344 1,351 100 1,366 1,357 99
:
Calves :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 33.3 22.5 25.9 78 238.5 197.2 83
Other ................1,000: 0.7 0.6 0.7 107 5.0 4.7 93
Commercial ...........1,000: 34.0 23.2 26.6 78 243.5 201.8 83
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 240 276 270 113 255 270 106
Other ...............pounds: 362 357 357 99 374 369 98
Commercial ..........pounds: 242 278 273 113 257 272 106
:
Hogs :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 10,922.2 9,563.6 11,057.2 101 82,110.0 83,678.0 102
Other ................1,000: 67.4 52.3 65.4 97 420.3 409.7 97
Commercial ...........1,000: 10,989.6 9,616.0 11,122.7 101 82,530.2 84,087.6 102
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 282 281 278 99 290 287 99
Other ...............pounds: 261 264 264 101 268 268 100
Commercial ..........pounds: 282 281 278 99 290 287 99
:
Sheep and lambs :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 155.3 130.9 150.9 97 1,159.5 1,203.6 104
Other ................1,000: 27.1 28.7 32.9 121 210.6 205.9 98
Commercial ...........1,000: 182.4 159.6 183.8 101 1,370.1 1,409.5 103
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 132 122 117 89 133 125 94
Other ...............pounds: 100 97 97 97 98 97 100
Commercial ..........pounds: 127 118 113 89 128 121 95
:
Goats :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 43.0 39.6 44.4 103 321.9 340.5 106
Other ................1,000: 7.6 8.4 9.8 129 70.8 63.7 90
Commercial ...........1,000: 50.7 48.0 54.3 107 392.7 404.2 103
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 65 63 64 99 65 64 100
Other ...............pounds: 83 91 83 100 85 86 101
Commercial ..........pounds: 68 68 67 100 68 68 99
:
Bison :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 6.4 5.7 6.2 98 48.0 50.6 105
Other ................1,000: 0.2 0.3 0.2 104 2.0 2.1 107
Commercial ...........1,000: 6.6 5.9 6.5 98 49.9 52.7 106
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States
[Includes total beef, veal, pork, lamb, and mutton. Totals and percentages based on
unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State : August : July : August : August 2023 as
: 2022 : 2023 : 2023 : % of 2022
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ----------- million pounds ---------- percent
:
Alabama ...............: 1.6 1.1 1.4 86
Alaska ................: 0.1 (Y) (Y) (X)
Arizona ...............: 40.7 38.3 42.6 105
Arkansas ..............: 0.6 0.4 0.6 97
California ............: 154.1 105.4 111.4 72
Colorado ..............: 184.7 156.9 177.6 96
Delaware-Maryland .....: 3.2 2.5 3.0 94
Florida ...............: 8.1 5.9 6.7 82
Georgia ...............: 14.0 12.0 14.7 105
Hawaii ................: 1.0 0.7 0.8 75
:
Idaho .................: 37.6 35.6 40.3 107
Illinois ..............: 270.6 239.9 276.0 102
Indiana ...............: 162.1 138.6 164.6 102
Iowa ..................: 715.7 650.7 764.7 107
Kansas ................: 551.0 465.1 513.9 93
Kentucky ..............: 53.6 50.7 57.4 107
Louisiana .............: 0.4 0.3 0.3 88
Michigan ..............: 112.0 102.4 114.1 102
Minnesota .............: 255.0 209.1 234.1 92
Mississippi ...........: 0.9 0.7 0.7 82
:
Missouri ..............: 172.3 149.2 175.2 102
Montana ...............: 1.5 1.6 1.8 120
Nebraska ..............: 708.5 582.1 661.2 93
Nevada ................: (Y) (Y) 0.1 (X)
New England 1/ ........: 3.0 2.4 2.9 97
New Jersey ............: 3.9 3.5 4.1 106
New Mexico ............: 0.4 0.4 0.4 102
New York ..............: 3.6 2.8 3.5 97
North Carolina ........: 268.2 219.0 228.9 85
North Dakota ..........: 1.0 0.7 0.7 77
:
Ohio ..................: 26.4 23.5 26.4 100
Oklahoma ..............: 101.1 97.1 100.6 99
Oregon ................: 3.8 2.5 2.9 76
Pennsylvania ..........: 133.8 118.8 135.6 101
South Carolina ........: 16.5 14.4 17.3 105
South Dakota ..........: 121.1 102.5 120.7 100
Tennessee .............: 27.7 25.6 29.0 104
Texas .................: 424.2 342.8 396.5 93
Utah ..................: 48.6 46.9 50.6 104
Virginia ..............: 1.7 1.1 1.3 77
:
Washington ............: 82.0 74.2 82.1 100
West Virginia .........: 1.0 0.8 1.0 106
Wisconsin .............: 107.9 99.1 104.4 97
Wyoming ...............: 1.0 0.8 0.9 92
:
United States .........: 4,826.2 4,128.1 4,673.2 97
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(X) Not applicable.
(Y) Less than level of precision shown.
1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, and Vermont.
Commercial Cattle Slaughter - States and United States: August 2022 and 2023
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ---- 1,000 head --- --- 1,000 pounds --- ---- pounds ----
:
Alabama ..........: 1.7 1.1 1,746 1,196 1,056 1,112
Alaska ...........: 0.1 (Y) 71 (X) 1,150 (X)
Arizona ..........: 47.1 47.9 65,406 68,268 1,391 1,426
Arkansas .........: 1.0 0.8 947 903 970 1,065
California .......: 147.6 129.4 191,610 172,037 1,312 1,339
Colorado .........: 209.5 202.0 286,998 277,250 1,371 1,374
Delaware-Maryland : 3.3 3.1 4,604 4,318 1,393 1,416
Florida ..........: 13.4 10.7 15,698 12,626 1,171 1,181
Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Hawaii ...........: 1.5 1.1 1,767 1,288 1,145 1,191
:
Idaho ............: 52.2 54.8 65,974 69,336 1,274 1,272
Illinois .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Indiana ..........: 4.8 4.2 5,779 5,080 1,205 1,208
Iowa .............: 50.3 51.0 68,210 68,860 1,358 1,350
Kansas ...........: 620.2 583.1 850,447 791,345 1,372 1,357
Kentucky .........: 6.3 6.8 6,591 7,492 1,058 1,105
Louisiana ........: 0.7 0.5 554 465 848 851
Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Minnesota ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Mississippi ......: 0.9 0.6 833 524 938 884
:
Missouri .........: 31.2 29.9 34,599 35,132 1,113 1,179
Montana ..........: 1.6 1.9 1,981 2,376 1,251 1,261
Nebraska .........: 648.7 597.6 918,432 841,478 1,418 1,409
Nevada ...........: 0.1 0.1 75 84 1,169 1,257
New England 1/ ...: 3.4 3.2 3,971 3,808 1,165 1,196
New Jersey .......: 4.1 4.5 4,611 5,118 1,132 1,140
New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.5 567 518 1,233 1,058
New York .........: 3.9 4.1 4,579 4,922 1,189 1,210
North Carolina ...: 8.3 8.3 10,081 10,171 1,227 1,235
North Dakota .....: 1.2 0.9 1,512 1,181 1,301 1,295
:
Ohio .............: 7.0 6.5 9,274 8,568 1,328 1,327
Oklahoma .........: 8.3 5.1 9,817 5,849 1,182 1,150
Oregon ...........: 2.4 2.1 2,734 2,572 1,136 1,237
Pennsylvania .....: 102.0 96.6 125,516 121,015 1,244 1,259
South Carolina ...: 25.0 25.8 32,250 33,853 1,297 1,319
South Dakota .....: 42.2 37.5 59,688 53,403 1,423 1,431
Tennessee ........: 4.0 4.1 4,232 4,072 1,065 1,002
Texas ............: 544.7 502.6 694,103 648,705 1,280 1,294
Utah .............: 54.6 56.6 75,433 78,932 1,382 1,395
Virginia .........: 1.9 1.6 2,016 1,702 1,090 1,046
:
Washington .......: 97.2 93.0 133,555 132,573 1,379 1,429
West Virginia ....: 1.1 1.1 1,262 1,329 1,177 1,163
Wisconsin ........: 115.9 113.7 160,337 156,858 1,398 1,388
Wyoming ..........: 1.1 1.1 1,274 1,252 1,202 1,184
:
United States ....: 3,076.1 2,889.9 4,133,231 3,894,673 1,348 1,351
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
(X) Not applicable.
(Y) Less than level of precision shown.
1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, and Vermont.
Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: August 2022 and 2023
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: -- 1,000 head -- 1,000 pounds --- pounds ---
:
Alabama ..........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Alaska ...........: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
Arizona ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Arkansas .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
California .......: 3.3 (D) 402 (D) 135 (D)
Colorado .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Delaware-Maryland : (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Florida ..........: 0.1 (D) 57 (D) 447 (D)
Georgia ..........: 0.2 0.1 109 59 483 488
Hawaii ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
Idaho ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Illinois .........: 0.1 0.3 31 120 331 426
Indiana ..........: 0.7 0.7 296 300 406 444
Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Kansas ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Kentucky .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Louisiana ........: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Minnesota ........: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
Mississippi ......: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D)
:
Missouri .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Montana ..........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Nebraska .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Nevada ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
New England 1/ ...: 0.2 0.1 50 28 250 217
New Jersey .......: 1.6 1.3 583 498 376 377
New Mexico .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
New York .........: 5.4 3.3 522 298 99 91
North Carolina ...: 0.1 0.2 15 41 253 218
North Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
Ohio .............: 9.2 4.9 1,263 1,042 138 214
Oklahoma .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Oregon ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Pennsylvania .....: 7.3 7.0 3,164 3,067 433 438
South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Tennessee ........: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
Texas ............: 0.2 0.2 84 82 414 411
Utah .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Virginia .........: 0.2 0.1 45 39 254 282
:
Washington .......: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D)
West Virginia ....: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Wisconsin ........: 2.3 1.9 1,087 915 478 479
Wyoming ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
United States ....: 34.0 26.6 8,080 7,217 242 273
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
(X) Not applicable.
(Y) Less than level of precision shown.
1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, and Vermont.
Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: August 2022 and 2023
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ---- 1,000 head ---- --- 1,000 pounds --- --- pounds ---
:
Alabama ..........: 2.2 2.5 927 1,052 422 425
Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.1 13 32 235 240
Arizona ..........: 0.1 0.2 23 32 257 211
Arkansas .........: 0.3 0.4 81 108 262 264
California .......: 231.8 83.8 59,122 18,493 255 221
Colorado .........: 3.5 4.1 624 697 179 169
Delaware-Maryland : 2.1 2.0 549 537 266 271
Florida ..........: 7.8 8.4 901 765 115 91
Georgia ..........: 5.2 5.0 1,366 1,343 263 269
Hawaii ...........: 0.2 0.1 54 33 250 249
:
Idaho ............: 14.1 11.7 3,747 2,800 267 239
Illinois .........: 947.3 1,002.4 266,804 279,988 282 279
Indiana ..........: 763.8 788.5 210,753 215,430 276 273
Iowa .............: 3,284.3 3,541.0 910,989 978,044 277 276
Kansas ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Kentucky .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Louisiana ........: 0.2 0.2 45 46 234 229
Michigan .........: 325.0 348.1 95,187 98,323 293 282
Minnesota ........: 1,083.9 1,014.5 296,528 276,380 274 272
Mississippi ......: 3.1 3.2 538 565 171 175
:
Missouri .........: 725.4 742.4 206,552 210,594 285 284
Montana ..........: 1.7 1.8 429 481 254 265
Nebraska .........: 662.5 655.1 185,562 183,554 280 280
Nevada ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
New England 1/ ...: 2.9 3.1 724 808 251 258
New Jersey .......: 8.3 8.4 824 860 100 103
New Mexico .......: 0.3 0.5 75 104 235 230
New York .........: 3.1 2.2 729 536 235 241
North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
North Dakota .....: 0.3 0.3 88 77 312 286
:
Ohio .............: 93.3 98.7 26,990 27,861 289 282
Oklahoma .........: 450.8 483.6 127,708 129,092 283 267
Oregon ...........: 9.0 5.8 2,386 1,396 266 241
Pennsylvania .....: 282.4 302.6 77,005 83,727 273 277
South Carolina ...: 1.9 2.0 474 498 253 245
South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Tennessee ........: 85.6 88.8 38,165 40,082 447 452
Texas ............: 23.1 23.4 4,441 4,334 192 185
Utah .............: (D) 2.9 (D) 648 (D) 228
Virginia .........: (D) 1.0 (D) 299 (D) 295
:
Washington .......: 1.8 (D) 462 (D) 258 (D)
West Virginia ....: 1.0 1.1 263 315 276 275
Wisconsin ........: 74.0 71.8 31,634 31,007 430 433
Wyoming ..........: 1.1 0.9 265 197 252 226
:
United States ....: 10,989.6 11,122.7 3,095,901 3,090,900 282 278
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
(X) Not applicable.
(Y) Less than level of precision shown.
1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, and Vermont.
Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: August 2022 and 2023
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 head -- -- 1,000 pounds -- --- pounds ---
:
Alabama ..........: (D) 0.1 (D) 7 (D) 72
Alaska ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Arizona ..........: 0.3 0.7 30 79 101 107
Arkansas .........: 0.1 0.1 17 8 120 116
California .......: 26.0 24.4 3,965 3,405 153 140
Colorado .........: 35.8 31.6 5,874 4,572 164 145
Delaware-Maryland : 2.6 1.8 252 170 98 94
Florida ..........: 2.5 2.9 128 148 51 52
Georgia ..........: 2.0 (D) 115 (D) 56 (D)
Hawaii ...........: 0.1 0.2 8 25 133 135
:
Idaho ............: 0.3 0.4 43 48 138 128
Illinois .........: 5.9 6.8 527 561 89 82
Indiana ..........: 6.7 6.8 749 689 113 101
Iowa .............: 0.2 0.2 30 28 153 136
Kansas ...........: 0.4 0.4 43 43 105 109
Kentucky .........: 1.2 1.5 143 161 118 109
Louisiana ........: 0.6 0.8 30 45 49 58
Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Minnesota ........: 0.6 0.6 51 48 84 75
Mississippi ......: 0.1 0.1 5 9 68 69
:
Missouri .........: 0.9 0.9 72 83 81 97
Montana ..........: 0.3 0.5 48 61 142 134
Nebraska .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Nevada ...........: 0.1 (Y) 7 (X) 133 (X)
New England 1/ ...: 4.0 3.5 377 332 95 95
New Jersey .......: 15.2 15.7 1,296 1,284 85 82
New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.5 73 66 139 125
New York .........: 4.5 5.7 461 489 104 86
North Carolina ...: 1.8 2.5 122 159 66 63
North Dakota .....: 0.1 (Y) 14 (X) 152 (X)
:
Ohio .............: 4.1 4.0 655 609 162 152
Oklahoma .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Oregon ...........: 5.4 4.4 715 623 132 140
Pennsylvania .....: 9.1 11.1 975 1,091 108 98
South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
South Dakota .....: 0.3 0.3 40 36 135 120
Tennessee ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Texas ............: 23.8 25.9 2,690 2,535 113 98
Utah .............: 1.9 1.8 252 239 133 132
Virginia .........: 1.3 1.1 86 78 67 73
:
Washington .......: 1.1 1.4 148 193 135 133
West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Wisconsin ........: 4.1 2.7 635 361 156 134
Wyoming ..........: 0.3 0.3 40 41 117 150
:
United States ....: 182.4 183.8 23,135 20,815 127 113
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
(X) Not applicable.
(Y) Less than level of precision shown.
1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, and Vermont.
Livestock Slaughtered Under Federal Inspection by Class - United States
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : January to August : : : : January to August
Class : August : July : August :-----------------------: August : July : August :-----------------------
: 2022 : 2023 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --------------------- 1,000 head -------------------- ----------------- percent of total ----------------
:
Cattle :
Steers ...........: 1,461.4 1,221.4 1,359.1 10,679.5 10,187.6 48.4 47.8 47.8 47.5 47.0
Heifers ..........: 905.0 784.8 874.0 6,795.7 6,720.6 30.0 30.7 30.8 30.2 31.0
All cows .........: 600.9 504.4 556.2 4,642.3 4,415.2 19.9 19.8 19.6 20.6 20.4
Dairy cows .......: 266.1 244.2 275.5 2,016.8 2,138.7 8.8 9.6 9.7 9.0 9.9
Other cows .......: 334.8 260.2 280.7 2,625.5 2,276.5 11.1 10.2 9.9 11.7 10.5
Bulls ............: 51.5 43.0 51.5 374.0 351.5 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.6
:
Total ............: 3,018.9 2,553.6 2,840.7 22,491.6 21,674.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Calves and :
vealers ...... : 33.3 22.5 25.9 238.5 197.2 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Hogs :
Barrows and :
gilts ..........: 10,623.0 9,271.0 10,735.8 79,870.3 81,337.1 97.3 96.9 97.1 97.3 97.2
Sows .............: 273.5 270.0 293.8 2,040.4 2,136.8 2.5 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.6
Boars ............: 25.7 22.7 27.7 199.3 204.0 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2
:
Total ............: 10,922.2 9,563.6 11,057.2 82,110.0 83,678.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Sheep :
Mature :
sheep ..........: 9.9 9.2 9.8 73.3 76.1 6.4 7.0 6.5 6.3 6.3
Lambs and :
yearlings ......: 145.4 121.7 141.1 1,086.1 1,127.6 93.6 93.0 93.5 93.7 93.7
:
Total ............: 155.3 130.9 150.9 1,159.5 1,203.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : January to August
Class : August : July : August :-----------------------
: 2022 : 2023 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: pounds
:
Cattle ............... : 820 815 822 826 820
Steers 1/ ...............: 901 893 903 903 897
Heifers 1/ ..............: 820 811 818 832 822
All cows 1/ .............: 617 625 621 636 632
Bulls 1/ ................: 871 880 876 880 874
:
Calves and vealers ... : 139 163 159 148 159
:
Hogs ................. : 210 209 206 216 214
Barrows and gilts 2/ ....: 208 206 204 214 212
Sows 2/ .................: 302 300 300 299 299
Boars 2/ ................: 188 191 185 192 192
:
Sheep ................ : 67 62 59 67 63
Mature sheep 3/ .........: 64 65 66 64 64
Lambs and yearlings 3/ ..: 67 62 59 67 63
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Included in cattle average dressed weight.
2/ Included in hog average dressed weight.
3/ Included in sheep average dressed weight.
Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: August 2023
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Cattle : Calves
Standard :-----------------------------------------------------------------------
federal : : : : Cows : :
regions 1/ : Total : Steers :Heifers :--------------------------: Bulls : Total
: : : : All : Dairy : Other : :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 head
:
1 ............: 2.8 1.2 0.9 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.1
2 ............: 8.5 2.5 1.7 4.0 3.6 0.4 0.3 4.6
3 ............: 99.5 39.6 3.3 50.7 38.9 11.8 5.9 7.3
4 ............: 81.8 5.5 2.8 65.4 14.5 50.9 8.1 0.4
5 ............: 273.1 126.3 (D) 98.2 67.3 30.9 (D) 7.7
6 ............: 502.5 193.6 181.1 117.5 38.0 79.5 10.4 (D)
7 ............:1,250.7 691.3 476.0 75.8 9.3 66.5 7.6 (Y)
8 ............: 295.0 168.9 (D) 21.6 7.8 13.8 (D) (Y)
9 ............: 177.8 68.4 31.1 75.4 64.1 11.3 2.9 (D)
10 ...........: 148.9 61.8 36.7 47.1 31.7 15.4 3.3 (D)
:
United States :2,840.7 1,359.1 874.0 556.2 275.5 280.7 51.5 25.9
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hogs : Sheep
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and
: :and gilts: Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 head
:
1 ............: 2.8 2.8 (Y) (Y) 3.4 0.2 3.2
2 ............: 10.5 10.5 (Y) (Y) 20.9 1.8 19.1
3 ............: 303.9 303.6 (D) (D) 14.7 1.6 13.1
4 ............: (D) (D) 89.9 (D) 10.9 1.1 9.8
5 ............: 3,290.2 3,168.2 117.4 4.7 28.3 1.8 26.5
6 ............: 504.4 504.1 (D) (D) 10.6 (D) (D)
7 ............: 4,951.2 4,849.6 85.6 16.0 1.0 (D) (D)
8 ............: (D) (D) 0.3 (Y) 33.0 1.0 32.0
9 ............: 80.5 80.5 (Y) (Y) 23.2 1.7 21.5
10 ...........: 18.4 18.3 (Y) (Y) 4.9 0.2 4.7
:
United States :11,057.2 10,735.8 293.8 27.7 150.9 9.8 141.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
(Y) Less than level of precision shown.
1/ States included in regions are as follows: 1 - Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont; 2 - New Jersey, New York; 3
- Delaware-Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia; 4 - Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee; 5 -
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin; 6 - Arkansas, Louisiana,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas; 7 - Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska; 8- Colorado,
Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming; 9 - Arizona, California,
Hawaii, Nevada; 10 - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington.
Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: January to August 2023
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Cattle : Calves
Standard :-----------------------------------------------------------------------
federal : : : : Cows : :
regions 1/ : Total : Steers :Heifers :--------------------------: Bulls : Total
: : : : All : Dairy : Other : :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 head
:
1 ............: 20.8 8.3 7.2 3.4 2.0 1.4 2.0 1.3
2 ............: 62.9 18.8 14.8 26.9 24.3 2.6 2.3 38.8
3 ............: 764.1 303.8 32.6 384.2 300.5 83.7 43.5 54.2
4 ............: 599.9 39.3 22.0 476.7 110.5 366.2 61.8 3.6
5 ............: 2,113.0 970.4 (D) 801.5 503.7 297.9 (D) 58.6
6 ............: 3,811.7 1,583.2 1,275.5 880.9 295.2 585.6 72.0 (D)
7 ............: 9,504.7 5,099.5 3,738.1 611.0 61.8 549.2 56.1 0.3
8 ............: 2,221.9 1,184.9 (D) 179.8 44.8 134.9 (D) (Y)
9 ............: 1,431.0 581.4 208.0 623.5 521.1 102.4 18.2 (D)
10 ...........: 1,144.9 398.1 298.5 427.2 274.8 152.4 21.2 (D)
:
United States :21,674.9 10,187.6 6,720.6 4,415.2 2,138.7 2,276.5 351.5 197.2
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hogs : Sheep
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and
: :and gilts : Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 head
:
1 ............: 17.0 16.7 0.2 0.1 32.3 2.0 30.3
2 ............: 79.1 78.7 0.4 0.1 167.4 15.1 152.4
3 ............: 2,220.6 2,218.4 (D) (D) 117.0 10.3 106.7
4 ............: (D) (D) 617.3 (D) 82.8 7.1 75.7
5 ............: 25,129.0 24,170.3 916.6 42.2 223.3 14.7 208.6
6 ............: 3,871.4 3,869.3 (D) (D) 80.5 (D) (D)
7 ............: 36,955.9 36,249.3 594.2 112.4 7.7 (D) (D)
8 ............: (D) (D) 4.4 0.3 273.5 7.5 265.9
9 ............: 708.4 708.1 0.2 0.1 179.8 13.5 166.3
10 ...........: 145.9 145.6 0.2 0.1 39.4 1.9 37.5
:
United States : 83,678.0 81,337.1 2,136.8 204.0 1,203.6 76.1 1,127.6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
(Y) Less than level of precision shown.
1/ States included in regions are as follows: 1 - Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont; 2 - New Jersey, New York; 3
- Delaware-Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia; 4 - Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee; 5 -
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin; 6 - Arkansas, Louisiana,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas; 7 - Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska; 8- Colorado,
Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming; 9 - Arizona, California,
Hawaii, Nevada; 10 - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington.
Federally Inspected Slaughter Percent of Total Commercial Slaughter -
United States
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : January to August
Species : August : July : August :------------------------
: 2022 : 2023 : 2023 : 2022 : 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent
:
Cattle .......: 98.1 98.3 98.3 98.1 98.2
Calves .......: 98.0 97.2 97.2 97.9 97.7
Hogs .........: 99.4 99.5 99.4 99.5 99.5
Sheep ........: 85.1 82.0 82.1 84.6 85.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Terms and Definitions Used for Livestock Slaughter Estimates
Average Live Weight: The weight of the whole animal, before slaughter.
Excludes post-mortem condemnations.
Commercial Production: Includes slaughter and meat production in federally
inspected and other plants, but excludes animals slaughtered on farms. Based
on packers' dressed weights.
Custom-Exempt Plants: Plants that do not sell meat but operate on a custom
basis only are custom-exempt. The animals and meat are not inspected, but the
facilities must meet health standards. These are considered NFI plants and
head kill is included in NFI totals.
Dressed Weight: The weight of a chilled animal carcass. Beef with kidney knob
in; veal with hide off; lamb and mutton with pluck out; pork with leaf fat
and kidneys out, jowls on and head off.
Dressing Percent: Usually expressed as a percentage yield of chilled carcass
in relation to the weight of the live animal on hoof. For example, a live hog
that weighed 200 pounds on hoof and yielded a carcass weighing 140 pounds
would have a dressing percentage of 70.
Federally Inspected (FI) Plants: Plants that transport meat interstate must
employ federal inspectors to assure compliance with USDA standards. Any state
whose commercial plants operate entirely under federal inspection may still
have custom-exempt establishments for which NFI estimates are made.
Food and Meat Inspection: Includes examination, checking, or testing of a
carcass and/or meat against established government standards and involves
checking the facility for cleanliness, health of animals, or parts of animals
and quality of the meat produced.
Non-Federally Inspected (NFI) Plants: Plants which sell and transport only
intrastate. State inspectors assure compliance with individual state
standards for these NFI plants. Mobile slaughtering units are excluded and
are considered farm slaughter.
Number of Head: Includes post-mortem condemnations.
Plant, Slaughter: An establishment where animals are killed and butchered.
Red Meat: Red meat production is the carcass weight after slaughter excluding
condemnation and is comprised of beef, veal, pork, and lamb and mutton. The
FI red meat production is equal to the total carcass weight after slaughter.
The NFI meat production formula is (NFI head kill) X (live weight) X (FI
dressing percentage) = NFI red meat production.
Slaughter: Killing and butchering of animals primarily for food.
Slaughter, Farm: Animals slaughtered on farms primarily for home consumption.
Excludes custom slaughter for farmers at commercial establishments, but
includes mobile slaughtering on farms. These estimates appear only in the
annual slaughter release.
Talmedge-Aiken (TA) Plants: Slaughter plants in which USDA is responsible for
inspection. However, federal inspection is carried out by State employees.
These plants are considered to be federally inspected.
Total Live Weight: The total weight of live animals, before slaughter.
Excludes post-mortem condemnations.
Wholesome Meat Act: Legislation that specifies that all meat produced for
sale in the United States must be inspected. Meat that is transported
interstate must be inspected in compliance with Federal (USDA) Standards.
Statistical Methodology
Data Sources: Primary data for the Livestock Slaughter publication are
obtained from electronic reports completed by inspectors from the Food Safety
and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA, which provide daily counts of animals
slaughtered in Federally Inspected (FI) plants, in addition to total live and
dressed weights. These counts are combined with data from State-administered
Non-Federally Inspected (NFI) slaughter plants to derive total commercial
slaughter estimates.
There are approximately 950 livestock slaughter plants in the United States
operating under Federal Inspection and nearly 1,950 Non-Federally Inspected
(State-inspected or custom-exempt) slaughter plants. Slaughter from State-
inspected Talmedge-Aiken plants is included in FI totals (see Terms and
Definitions, page 14). To prevent duplication in reporting between FI and NFI
plants and assure all FI plants are included, certificates prepared by FSIS
identifying operating status are constantly monitored.
Revision Policy: Number of head slaughtered, live weights, and dressed
weights are subject to revision the following month after the monthly
release. Annual totals are published in the slaughter summary each April
which includes any revisions made to current and previous year's published
data. Revisions are generally the result of late reports received from
slaughter plants and are usually less than one-half of one percent. No
revisions will be made to the previous year's data after the publication of
the annual summary in April.
Procedures and Reliability: The livestock slaughter data is obtained
electronically on a daily basis and summarized approximately two weeks after
the week of slaughter. A computer program compares each plant's data with the
historical data for that plant. Data are checked for unusual values for head
kill, patterns of kill, average weights, and dressing percent, based on each
plant's past operating profile. In addition, the computer program provides a
listing of missing reports for follow-up contact with FSIS. Average live and
dressed weights and dressing percentages by State are compared with the
previous weeks as an additional check. Fluctuations are frequently the result
of plants permanently or temporarily closing and a shift in the species
reported.
The FSIS District Veterinary Medical Specialists (DVMS) are contacted by e-
mail or telephone for missing or potentially erroneous slaughter data. This
assures that plants slaughtering a large number of head or several species
are accounted for each week. Any corrections FSIS makes to the slaughter data
are included in the summary.
Computer imputation may be necessary for incomplete reports. The imputation
of live and dressed weights is based on the current week reported data of
plants of similar size and location. Imputation for live and dressed weight
data for cattle and hogs is less than 10 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
The imputation for calves and sheep is more frequent and variable. If no
data is received electronically or by other means, for plants slaughtering
fewer than 50 total head weekly of only one species, data are imputed. The
imputation of head for any plant is based on the historical data for that
particular plant. The imputation of head slaughtered is rare but when
necessary, the imputed head kill for missing plants usually is less than 1
percent of the United States head kill totals.
FI data are summarized weekly and accumulated to a monthly total for this
release. These weekly totals are published by USDA's Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS) in Livestock, Meat, Wool Market News, Weekly Summary, and
statistics are also available on the NASS website. NFI data are summarized
monthly only.
Livestock slaughter estimates are based on a census of operating plants and
therefore, have no sampling error. However, they may be subject to non-
sampling errors such as omissions, duplications and mistakes in reporting,
recording and processing the data. These errors are minimized through rigid
quality controls in the computer edit program and summarization process, and
a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness.
No data are published when an individual plant's data could be divulged. If
not published, as indicated with a (D), these data are still included in
United States and region totals. A review of the data is made annually to
determine the publishable data.
Information Contacts
Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics
Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@usda.gov.
Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch ....................................................... (202) 692-0069
Scott Hollis, Head, Livestock Section ......................................................... (202) 690-2424
Sherry Bertramsen - Livestock Slaughter .................................................... (202) 690-8632
Ryan Cowen - Cattle, Cattle on Feed ........................................................ (202) 720-3040
Kim Dapra - Milk Production and Milk Cows .................................................. (512) 501-3266
Donnie Fike - Dairy Products................................................................ (202) 690-3347
Anthony Fischer - Hogs and Pigs ............................................................ (202) 720-3106
Suzanne Richards - Sheep and Goats ......................................................... (202) 720-4448
Access to NASS Reports
For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following
ways:
All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web
site: www.nass.usda.gov
Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e-
mail subscription. To set-up this free subscription, visit
www.nass.usda.gov and click on "National" or "State" in upper right
corner above "search" box to create an account and select the reports
you would like to receive.
Cornell's Mann Library has launched a new website housing NASS's and
other agency's archived reports. The new website,
https://usda.library.cornell.edu. All email subscriptions containing
reports will be sent from the new website,
https://usda.library.cornell.edu. To continue receiving the reports via
e-mail, you will have to go to the new website, create a new account
and re-subscribe to the reports. If you need instructions to set up an
account or subscribe, they are located at:
https://usda.library.cornell.edu/help. You should whitelist
notifications@usda-esmis.library.cornell.edu in your email client to
avoid the emails going into spam/junk folders.
For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural
Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail:
nass@usda.gov.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against
its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the basis of race,
color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion,
reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial
or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's
income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic
information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded
by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs
and/or employment activities.)
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination,
complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (PDF), found online
at www.ascr.usda.gov/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer,
or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may
also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form.
Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue,
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at
program.intake@usda.gov. Livestock Slaughter
USDA - Contributor Content
This article could contain syndicated content. We have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed the content and may receive compensation for placement of the content on this site. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here
/Intel%20Corp_%20logo%20on%20mobile%20phone-by%20Piotr%20Swat%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)
/Nvidia%20logo%20by%20Konstantin%20Savusia%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)
/Alphabet%20(Google)%20Image%20by%20Markus%20Mainka%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)
/An%20image%20of%20a%20Tesla%20humanoid%20robot%20in%20front%20of%20the%20company%20logo%20Around%20the%20World%20Photos%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)