Livestock Slaughter
Livestock Slaughter
ISSN: 0499-0544
Released June 20, 2024, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
Record High Pork Production in May
May 2023 contained 23 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays.
May 2024 contained 23 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays.
Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.62 billion
pounds in May, up 1 percent from the 4.59 billion pounds produced in May
2023.
Beef production, at 2.33 billion pounds, was 1 percent above the previous
year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.75 million head, down 3 percent from May
2023. The average live weight was up 46 pounds from the previous year, at
1,395 pounds.
Veal production totaled 3.5 million pounds, 16 percent below May a year ago.
Calf slaughter totaled 17,700 head, down 27 percent from May 2023. The
average live weight was up 42 pounds from last year, at 335 pounds.
Pork production totaled 2.28 billion pounds, up slightly from the previous
year. Hog slaughter totaled 10.6 million head, down slightly from May 2023.
The average live weight was up 1 pound from the previous year, at 290 pounds.
Lamb and mutton production, at 11.5 million pounds, was up slightly from May
2023. Sheep slaughter totaled 187,000 head, slightly above last year. The
average live weight was 121 pounds, unchanged from May a year ago.
January to May 2024 commercial red meat production was 23.0 billion pounds,
up 1 percent from 2023. Accumulated beef production was down slightly from
last year, veal was down 11 percent, pork was up 2 percent from last year,
and lamb and mutton production was up 1 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: May 2023 and 2024............ 7
Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: May 2023 and 2024.............. 8
Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: May 2023 and 2024............... 9
Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: May 2023 and 2024.... 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: May 2024.................. 12
Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: January to May 2024....... 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]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : May 2024 as % of : January to May
: May : April : May :----------------------------------------------------
Type : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : May : April : : :2024 as %
: : : : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : of 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent
:
Beef .............: 2,305.7 2,303.4 2,326.2 101 101 11,198.4 11,189.4 100
Veal .............: 4.2 3.5 3.5 84 100 20.2 18.0 89
Pork .............: 2,271.6 2,317.4 2,278.6 100 98 11,462.7 11,690.0 102
Lamb and mutton ..: 11.4 11.4 11.5 100 101 55.8 56.7 101
:
Total red meat ...: 4,592.9 4,635.6 4,619.8 101 100 22,737.1 22,954.1 101
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States
[Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : May 2024 as % of : January to May
: May : April : May :----------------------------------------------------
Type : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : May : April : : :2024 as %
: : : : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : of 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent
:
Beef .............: 2,269.3 2,269.3 2,292.2 101 101 11,018.4 11,019.1 100
Veal .............: 4.1 3.3 3.4 83 101 19.5 17.3 89
Pork .............: 2,261.4 2,308.2 2,269.5 100 98 11,413.8 11,642.2 102
Lamb and mutton ..: 9.9 10.1 10.2 103 101 49.7 50.8 102
:
Total red meat ...: 4,544.6 4,590.9 4,575.3 101 100 22,501.5 22,729.5 101
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States
[Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : May : January to May
: May : April : May : 2024 as % :--------------------------------------------
Species : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : of 2023 : : : 2024 as %
: : : : : 2023 : 2024 : of 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent percent
:
Cattle :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 2,786.6 2,680.5 2,696.7 97 13,436.6 13,083.5 97
Other ................1,000: 53.3 48.7 48.5 91 264.1 244.5 93
Commercial ...........1,000: 2,839.9 2,729.2 2,745.3 97 13,700.7 13,327.9 97
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 1,352 1,398 1,398 103 1,368 1,394 102
Other ...............pounds: 1,209 1,227 1,219 101 1,213 1,223 101
Commercial ..........pounds: 1,349 1,395 1,395 103 1,365 1,391 102
:
Calves :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 23.8 16.8 17.2 72 125.8 93.0 74
Other ................1,000: 0.5 0.7 0.6 127 3.2 3.4 107
Commercial ...........1,000: 24.2 17.5 17.7 73 129.1 96.5 75
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 291 336 333 115 267 317 119
Other ...............pounds: 380 391 395 104 361 378 105
Commercial ..........pounds: 293 338 335 115 269 319 118
:
Hogs :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 10,533.4 10,701.0 10,534.3 100 52,682.7 53,896.3 102
Other ................1,000: 50.9 48.2 48.5 95 243.9 245.9 101
Commercial ...........1,000: 10,584.3 10,749.2 10,582.8 100 52,926.6 54,142.2 102
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 289 290 290 100 291 290 100
Other ...............pounds: 277 262 257 93 276 267 97
Commercial ..........pounds: 289 290 290 100 291 290 100
:
Sheep and lambs :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 154.6 164.5 163.0 105 773.0 806.8 104
Other ................1,000: 31.5 24.3 23.9 76 125.9 111.8 89
Commercial ...........1,000: 186.1 188.8 187.0 100 898.9 918.7 102
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 126 121 123 98 127 124 98
Other ...............pounds: 99 105 105 106 97 102 105
Commercial ..........pounds: 121 119 121 100 123 121 99
:
Goats :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 44.2 47.5 47.5 108 212.9 231.3 109
Other ................1,000: 6.8 9.0 8.4 123 37.2 46.4 125
Commercial ...........1,000: 51.0 56.5 56.0 110 250.1 277.7 111
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 64 64 64 101 65 63 98
Other ...............pounds: 89 79 81 92 87 81 93
Commercial ..........pounds: 67 66 67 99 68 66 97
:
Bison :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 6.5 6.6 6.7 104 32.3 34.6 107
Other ................1,000: 0.2 0.3 0.2 109 1.4 1.3 92
Commercial ...........1,000: 6.6 6.9 6.9 104 33.7 35.9 106
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States
[Includes total beef, veal, pork, lamb, and mutton. Totals and percentages based on
unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State : May : April : May : May 2024 as
: 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : % of 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ----------- million pounds ---------- percent
:
Alabama ...............: 1.2 1.2 1.0 80
Alaska ................: (Y) (Y) (Y) (X)
Arizona ...............: 40.5 40.4 40.6 100
Arkansas ..............: 0.5 0.6 0.6 111
California ............: 114.4 98.2 99.2 87
Colorado ..............: 169.0 179.8 183.2 108
Delaware-Maryland .....: 2.9 2.5 2.7 95
Florida ...............: 7.9 7.0 6.6 83
Georgia ...............: 13.0 11.3 11.6 89
Hawaii ................: 0.7 0.8 0.9 116
:
Idaho .................: 34.5 43.1 45.9 133
Illinois ..............: 270.0 281.1 282.6 105
Indiana ...............: 153.0 159.2 158.0 103
Iowa ..................: 769.9 774.4 753.2 98
Kansas ................: 491.0 509.7 517.7 105
Kentucky ..............: 50.7 53.7 52.5 104
Louisiana .............: 0.4 0.4 0.4 109
Michigan ..............: 111.3 118.7 126.1 113
Minnesota .............: 239.0 227.6 228.6 96
Mississippi ...........: 0.9 0.8 0.9 100
:
Missouri ..............: 166.0 166.2 157.8 95
Montana ...............: 2.9 2.2 3.2 110
Nebraska ..............: 621.9 661.0 659.7 106
Nevada ................: 0.1 (Y) 0.1 83
New England 1/ ........: 2.8 2.6 2.7 97
New Jersey ............: 4.1 4.2 4.1 102
New Mexico ............: 0.4 0.4 0.3 97
New York ..............: 3.4 3.2 3.4 101
North Carolina ........: 269.6 221.5 223.4 83
North Dakota ..........: 0.7 0.8 0.7 96
:
Ohio ..................: 24.7 26.4 26.3 106
Oklahoma ..............: 108.0 123.1 110.9 103
Oregon ................: 2.7 2.2 2.3 85
Pennsylvania ..........: 132.3 133.9 133.5 101
South Carolina ........: 16.6 16.6 16.5 99
South Dakota ..........: 116.8 123.1 120.6 103
Tennessee .............: 24.8 26.6 26.1 106
Texas .................: 389.3 379.2 384.8 99
Utah ..................: 46.4 48.0 50.6 109
Virginia ..............: 1.4 1.2 1.3 95
:
Washington ............: 84.0 80.4 78.8 94
West Virginia .........: 0.8 0.9 0.8 92
Wisconsin .............: 101.5 100.7 98.3 97
Wyoming ...............: 0.9 0.7 0.9 102
:
United States .........: 4,592.9 4,635.6 4,619.8 101
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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: May 2023 and 2024
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ---- 1,000 head --- --- 1,000 pounds --- ---- pounds ----
:
Alabama ..........: 1.3 0.9 1,483 1,022 1,163 1,140
Alaska ...........: (Y) 0.1 (X) 50 (X) 955
Arizona ..........: 46.1 45.2 64,847 64,897 1,410 1,439
Arkansas .........: 0.8 1.0 844 971 1,024 1,014
California .......: 133.4 109.3 179,139 148,234 1,351 1,366
Colorado .........: 195.9 202.4 265,205 285,930 1,355 1,414
Delaware-Maryland : 2.9 2.8 4,162 4,026 1,417 1,442
Florida ..........: 12.7 10.1 15,277 12,689 1,210 1,262
Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Hawaii ...........: 1.1 1.2 1,207 1,413 1,137 1,165
:
Idaho ............: 47.0 (D) 59,975 (D) 1,282 (D)
Illinois .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Indiana ..........: 4.3 5.4 5,201 6,497 1,210 1,197
Iowa .............: 49.6 47.4 68,275 66,164 1,377 1,396
Kansas ...........: 568.0 574.3 763,002 798,829 1,344 1,391
Kentucky .........: 6.9 6.2 7,486 7,169 1,097 1,158
Louisiana ........: 0.6 0.6 522 580 866 951
Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Minnesota ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Mississippi ......: 0.8 0.7 771 766 942 1,033
:
Missouri .........: 25.1 10.3 30,392 11,944 1,215 1,169
Montana ..........: 3.5 3.6 4,442 4,514 1,270 1,246
Nebraska .........: 596.7 582.2 833,615 847,461 1,398 1,457
Nevada ...........: 0.1 0.1 82 68 1,173 1,137
New England 1/ ...: 2.9 2.9 3,458 3,516 1,187 1,230
New Jersey .......: 4.3 4.5 4,911 5,092 1,146 1,149
New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.4 496 477 1,035 1,071
New York .........: 4.0 3.9 4,762 4,810 1,213 1,255
North Carolina ...: 8.4 6.3 10,326 7,732 1,236 1,237
North Dakota .....: 0.9 0.8 1,139 1,088 1,229 1,295
:
Ohio .............: 6.5 6.4 8,680 8,423 1,329 1,314
Oklahoma .........: 6.4 7.2 7,653 8,431 1,197 1,182
Oregon ...........: 1.8 1.4 2,219 1,727 1,215 1,238
Pennsylvania .....: 96.6 93.0 124,585 122,208 1,295 1,320
South Carolina ...: 23.9 23.1 32,341 32,267 1,357 1,403
South Dakota .....: 38.5 39.6 53,688 58,949 1,401 1,493
Tennessee ........: 4.0 3.1 4,105 3,339 1,030 1,074
Texas ............: 488.9 465.6 639,218 629,238 1,311 1,355
Utah .............: 53.2 54.8 72,383 78,883 1,361 1,441
Virginia .........: 1.8 1.6 1,913 1,687 1,085 1,075
:
Washington .......: 99.2 91.0 137,141 127,864 1,386 1,408
West Virginia ....: 1.0 0.9 1,191 1,099 1,187 1,186
Wisconsin ........: 106.5 101.5 148,947 142,401 1,406 1,411
Wyoming ..........: 1.0 1.0 1,246 1,253 1,198 1,230
:
United States ....: 2,839.9 2,745.3 3,824,066 3,821,800 1,349 1,395
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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: May 2023 and 2024
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: -- 1,000 head -- 1,000 pounds --- pounds ---
:
Alabama ..........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D)
Alaska ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Arizona ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Arkansas .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
California .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Colorado .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Delaware-Maryland : (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Florida ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Georgia ..........: 0.2 0.1 82 30 471 413
Hawaii ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
Idaho ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Illinois .........: 0.1 0.2 57 65 394 397
Indiana ..........: 0.6 0.5 267 201 447 385
Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Kansas ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Kentucky .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Louisiana ........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D)
Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Minnesota ........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Mississippi ......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
Missouri .........: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
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 37 39 221 264
New Jersey .......: 1.5 1.4 564 550 380 381
New Mexico .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
New York .........: 3.0 (D) 278 (D) 94 (D)
North Carolina ...: 0.1 0.1 18 38 151 258
North Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
Ohio .............: 3.7 2.9 994 1,111 271 384
Oklahoma .........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D)
Oregon ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Pennsylvania .....: 7.1 7.2 3,085 3,165 435 440
South Carolina ...: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Tennessee ........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Texas ............: 0.1 0.1 28 70 430 483
Utah .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Virginia .........: 0.1 (D) 35 (D) 286 (D)
:
Washington .......: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
West Virginia ....: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D)
Wisconsin ........: 2.0 (Y) 931 (X) 469 (X)
Wyoming ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
United States ....: 24.2 17.7 7,043 5,900 293 335
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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: May 2023 and 2024
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ---- 1,000 head ---- --- 1,000 pounds --- --- pounds ---
:
Alabama ..........: 1.6 1.6 607 642 386 406
Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.1 26 28 276 336
Arizona ..........: 0.1 0.1 22 21 267 278
Arkansas .........: 0.4 0.4 99 92 258 220
California .......: 77.0 87.3 16,895 19,668 220 226
Colorado .........: 2.3 2.5 377 388 161 158
Delaware-Maryland : 1.7 1.5 461 407 268 270
Florida ..........: 6.1 4.2 625 564 102 133
Georgia ..........: 5.5 5.2 1,502 1,418 271 271
Hawaii ...........: 0.1 0.1 39 39 260 268
:
Idaho ............: 12.5 12.4 3,017 3,098 241 250
Illinois .........: 955.3 1,006.8 273,639 291,026 287 289
Indiana ..........: 723.9 733.1 199,701 205,577 276 281
Iowa .............: 3,445.7 3,306.0 984,161 963,650 286 292
Kansas ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Kentucky .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Louisiana ........: 0.2 0.4 51 93 264 260
Michigan .........: 321.3 396.5 93,483 115,119 291 290
Minnesota ........: 1,021.4 972.2 281,801 272,064 276 280
Mississippi ......: 3.5 3.7 630 632 180 172
:
Missouri .........: 690.1 688.1 201,250 202,276 292 294
Montana ..........: 1.9 2.0 692 612 369 307
Nebraska .........: 500.0 615.1 143,186 178,628 286 290
Nevada ...........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D)
New England 1/ ...: 3.0 2.3 835 627 279 276
New Jersey .......: 7.6 8.6 803 849 106 99
New Mexico .......: 0.2 0.2 54 49 256 249
New York .........: 2.0 1.7 495 429 250 247
North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
North Dakota .....: 0.2 0.3 58 76 297 293
:
Ohio .............: 91.2 94.1 25,483 27,673 280 294
Oklahoma .........: 464.2 473.9 136,408 139,178 294 294
Oregon ...........: 5.3 5.1 1,292 1,255 242 247
Pennsylvania .....: 269.8 280.6 76,410 78,533 283 280
South Carolina ...: 2.2 1.9 545 481 248 250
South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Tennessee ........: 74.7 80.0 33,871 36,450 454 456
Texas ............: 24.1 23.9 5,191 4,728 216 198
Utah .............: 2.0 2.3 501 673 250 289
Virginia .........: 1.0 1.2 307 357 301 309
:
Washington .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
West Virginia ....: 0.5 0.5 159 151 300 309
Wisconsin ........: 73.9 76.6 32,108 33,580 436 439
Wyoming ..........: 0.7 0.7 193 195 262 280
:
United States ....: 10,584.3 10,582.8 3,053,065 3,064,734 289 290
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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: May 2023 and 2024
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 head -- -- 1,000 pounds -- --- pounds ---
:
Alabama ..........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Alaska ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Arizona ..........: 0.5 0.7 51 81 96 118
Arkansas .........: 0.1 0.1 12 10 117 85
California .......: 24.1 25.3 3,603 3,701 150 146
Colorado .........: 33.9 32.5 5,479 5,546 162 171
Delaware-Maryland : 2.1 1.6 205 159 97 100
Florida ..........: 2.5 3.0 132 157 52 52
Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Hawaii ...........: 0.2 0.1 23 14 133 118
:
Idaho ............: 0.2 0.1 18 17 116 153
Illinois .........: 4.9 8.1 448 659 91 81
Indiana ..........: 6.1 6.3 621 656 102 105
Iowa .............: 0.2 0.1 24 15 139 121
Kansas ...........: 0.3 0.4 27 35 92 95
Kentucky .........: 1.4 1.3 140 139 100 110
Louisiana ........: 0.7 0.8 44 44 59 57
Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Minnesota ........: 0.5 0.5 42 41 78 75
Mississippi ......: 0.1 0.2 6 11 68 64
:
Missouri .........: 0.9 1.2 73 103 80 86
Montana ..........: 0.4 0.5 44 72 124 135
Nebraska .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Nevada ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
New England 1/ ...: 4.2 4.7 403 459 96 99
New Jersey .......: 16.6 15.1 1,352 1,258 81 83
New Mexico .......: 0.6 0.5 71 59 127 130
New York .........: 6.3 6.2 542 607 86 99
North Carolina ...: 1.9 3.9 122 235 63 60
North Dakota .....: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
:
Ohio .............: 4.7 5.5 766 869 162 157
Oklahoma .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Oregon ...........: 4.9 4.1 769 643 156 158
Pennsylvania .....: 11.0 11.5 1,088 1,153 99 100
South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
South Dakota .....: 0.2 0.2 26 25 130 137
Tennessee ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Texas ............: 29.2 26.6 3,096 2,884 106 108
Utah .............: 1.6 1.5 210 206 134 135
Virginia .........: 0.9 1.8 67 108 74 60
:
Washington .......: 1.3 1.6 174 224 134 136
West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Wisconsin ........: 3.0 0.8 422 89 142 114
Wyoming ..........: 0.1 0.1 16 16 125 147
:
United States ....: 186.1 187.0 22,586 22,578 121 121
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 May : : : : January to May
Class : May : April : May :-----------------------: May : April : May :-----------------------
: 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --------------------- 1,000 head -------------------- ----------------- percent of total ----------------
:
Cattle :
Steers ...........: 1,341.3 1,256.3 1,343.6 6,224.2 6,223.8 48.1 46.9 49.8 46.3 47.6
Heifers ..........: 847.1 899.5 852.3 4,211.0 4,217.8 30.4 33.6 31.6 31.3 32.2
All cows .........: 549.8 478.6 457.5 2,794.7 2,446.4 19.7 17.9 17.0 20.8 18.7
Dairy cows .......: 249.1 238.2 216.1 1,363.2 1,201.9 8.9 8.9 8.0 10.1 9.2
Other cows .......: 300.8 240.4 241.4 1,431.5 1,244.4 10.8 9.0 9.0 10.7 9.5
Bulls ............: 48.3 46.1 43.3 206.6 195.5 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.5
:
Total ............: 2,786.6 2,680.5 2,696.7 13,436.6 13,083.5 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Calves and :
vealers ...... : 23.8 16.8 17.2 125.8 93.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Hogs :
Barrows and :
gilts ..........: 10,231.7 10,403.3 10,224.8 51,271.6 52,398.3 97.1 97.2 97.1 97.3 97.2
Sows .............: 274.7 274.1 282.0 1,283.3 1,375.9 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.4 2.6
Boars ............: 27.0 23.6 27.5 127.7 122.1 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2
:
Total ............: 10,533.4 10,701.0 10,534.3 52,682.7 53,896.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Sheep :
Mature :
sheep ..........: 10.3 12.1 12.4 46.9 53.4 6.7 7.4 7.6 6.1 6.6
Lambs and :
yearlings ......: 144.3 152.4 150.7 726.1 753.4 93.3 92.6 92.4 93.9 93.4
:
Total ............: 154.6 164.5 163.0 773.0 806.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : January to May
Class : May : April : May :-----------------------
: 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: pounds
:
Cattle ............... : 816 848 852 822 844
Steers 1/ ...............: 888 920 922 899 920
Heifers 1/ ..............: 819 849 847 827 843
All cows 1/ .............: 628 651 645 637 647
Bulls 1/ ................: 890 912 923 866 896
:
Calves and vealers ... : 172 200 199 156 188
:
Hogs ................. : 215 216 216 217 216
Barrows and gilts 2/ ....: 213 214 213 215 214
Sows 2/ .................: 300 301 301 297 299
Boars 2/ ................: 194 220 224 193 223
:
Sheep ................ : 64 61 63 64 63
Mature sheep 3/ .........: 64 65 64 64 65
Lambs and yearlings 3/ ..: 64 61 62 64 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: May 2024
[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 ............: 2.6 1.1 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.1
2 ............: 8.2 2.1 2.2 3.6 3.0 0.6 0.3 3.0
3 ............: 95.9 41.0 5.2 43.8 32.3 11.5 5.8 7.5
4 ............: 68.1 5.7 2.7 51.9 11.1 40.8 7.7 0.3
5 ............: 252.3 125.0 (D) 85.1 56.0 29.1 (D) 3.5
6 ............: 467.1 216.8 149.6 91.1 23.9 67.2 9.6 (D)
7 ............:1,203.6 674.3 (D) 55.6 4.5 51.2 (D) (Y)
8 ............: 295.4 159.9 (D) 20.6 7.1 13.5 (D) (Y)
9 ............: 155.0 62.3 28.1 61.9 49.3 12.6 2.8 (D)
10 ...........: 148.6 55.3 47.2 43.6 28.8 14.8 2.5 (D)
:
United States :2,696.7 1,343.6 852.3 457.5 216.1 241.4 43.3 17.2
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hogs : Sheep
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and
: :and gilts: Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 head
:
1 ............: 2.1 2.0 (Y) (Y) 4.6 0.3 4.3
2 ............: 10.3 10.2 (Y) (Y) 20.8 2.0 18.8
3 ............: 282.1 281.8 (D) (D) 15.9 2.4 13.4
4 ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) 11.3 1.0 10.3
5 ............: 3,258.9 3,133.2 120.4 5.3 25.9 1.8 24.0
6 ............: 494.5 494.4 0.1 (Y) 21.0 0.9 20.1
7 ............: 4,623.4 4,528.1 79.6 15.7 1.5 (Y) 1.4
8 ............: (D) (D) 0.7 (Y) 33.8 0.9 32.9
9 ............: 83.0 83.0 (Y) (Y) 24.0 2.8 21.2
10 ...........: 18.7 18.7 0.1 (Y) 4.4 0.2 4.2
:
United States :10,534.3 10,224.8 282.0 27.5 163.0 12.4 150.7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 May 2024
[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 ............: 12.7 5.1 3.5 2.6 1.5 1.1 1.4 0.8
2 ............: 39.7 10.3 11.0 17.0 14.2 2.8 1.4 16.2
3 ............: 463.5 187.3 22.1 226.8 169.9 57.0 27.3 38.3
4 ............: 356.3 26.0 12.6 278.3 69.3 209.0 39.4 1.9
5 ............: 1,258.3 592.3 (D) 462.6 290.0 172.6 (D) 18.4
6 ............: 2,265.5 1,010.9 742.2 466.6 158.7 307.8 45.9 (D)
7 ............: 5,790.1 3,109.4 (D) 325.3 30.7 294.6 (D) 0.3
8 ............: 1,395.8 712.6 (D) 116.9 35.1 81.9 (D) (Y)
9 ............: 780.0 306.1 136.1 328.0 280.7 47.3 9.8 (D)
10 ...........: 721.6 263.7 226.2 222.3 152.0 70.3 9.5 (D)
:
United States :13,083.5 6,223.8 4,217.8 2,446.4 1,201.9 1,244.4 195.5 93.0
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hogs : Sheep
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and
: :and gilts : Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 head
:
1 ............: 9.6 9.4 0.1 0.1 23.0 1.3 21.7
2 ............: 52.5 52.3 0.2 (Y) 104.0 10.1 93.9
3 ............: 1,440.1 1,438.8 (D) (D) 81.5 10.5 71.0
4 ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) 56.9 5.0 51.9
5 ............: 16,376.8 15,777.5 576.1 23.2 129.9 8.1 121.8
6 ............: 2,549.1 2,548.1 0.7 0.3 88.5 3.4 85.1
7 ............: 24,140.0 23,673.3 394.7 72.1 5.9 0.1 5.8
8 ............: (D) (D) 2.6 0.2 178.4 4.0 174.4
9 ............: 386.1 385.9 0.2 (Y) 114.5 10.0 104.5
10 ...........: 89.5 89.2 0.2 (Y) 24.2 0.9 23.3
:
United States : 53,896.3 52,398.3 1,375.9 122.1 806.8 53.4 753.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 May
Species : May : April : May :------------------------
: 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent
:
Cattle .......: 98.1 98.2 98.2 98.1 98.2
Calves .......: 98.1 96.0 96.8 97.5 96.4
Hogs .........: 99.5 99.6 99.5 99.5 99.5
Sheep ........: 83.1 87.1 87.2 86.0 87.8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 1,000 livestock slaughter plants in the United States
operating under Federal Inspection and nearly 1,850 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
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