Livestock Slaughter
Livestock Slaughter
ISSN: 0499-0544
Released May 23, 2024, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
All-Time Record Low Veal Production in April
April 2023 contained 20 weekdays (including 0 holidays) and 5 Saturdays.
April 2024 contained 22 weekdays (including 0 holidays) and 4 Saturdays.
Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.64 billion
pounds in April, up 10 percent from the 4.20 billion pounds produced in April
2023.
Beef production, at 2.30 billion pounds, was 11 percent above the previous
year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.73 million head, up 7 percent from April
2023. The average live weight was up 41 pounds from the previous year, at
1,395 pounds.
Veal production totaled 3.5 million pounds, 2 percent below April a year ago.
Calf slaughter totaled 17,500 head, down 20 percent from April 2023. The
average live weight was up 59 pounds from last year, at 338 pounds.
Pork production totaled 2.32 billion pounds, up 9 percent from the previous
year. Hog slaughter totaled 10.7 million head, up 10 percent from April 2023.
The average live weight was down 1 pound from the previous year, at
290 pounds.
Lamb and mutton production, at 11.4 million pounds, was up 4 percent from
April 2023. Sheep slaughter totaled 188,800 head, 2 percent above last year.
The average live weight was 119 pounds, up 2 pounds from April a year ago.
January to April 2024 commercial red meat production was 18.3 billion pounds,
up 1 percent from 2023. Accumulated beef production was down slightly from
last year, veal was down 9 percent, pork was up 2 percent from last year, and
lamb and mutton production was up 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: April 2023 and 2024.......... 7
Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: April 2023 and 2024............ 8
Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: April 2023 and 2024............. 9
Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: April 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: April 2024................ 12
Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: January to April 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]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : April 2024 as % of : January to April
: April : March : April :----------------------------------------------------
Type : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : April : March : : :2024 as %
: : : : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : of 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent
:
Beef .............: 2,069.3 2,110.4 2,303.3 111 109 8,892.9 8,863.2 100
Veal .............: 3.6 3.6 3.5 98 98 16.0 14.5 91
Pork .............: 2,119.6 2,250.1 2,317.3 109 103 9,191.1 9,411.3 102
Lamb and mutton ..: 11.0 12.3 11.4 104 92 44.4 45.2 102
:
Total red meat ...: 4,203.4 4,376.4 4,635.5 110 106 18,144.4 18,334.2 101
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States
[Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : April 2024 as % of : January to April
: April : March : April :----------------------------------------------------
Type : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : April : March : : :2024 as %
: : : : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : of 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent
:
Beef .............: 2,034.8 2,076.5 2,269.3 112 109 8,749.1 8,726.9 100
Veal .............: 3.5 3.4 3.3 97 98 15.5 14.0 90
Pork .............: 2,110.3 2,240.7 2,308.1 109 103 9,152.4 9,372.6 102
Lamb and mutton ..: 9.7 11.1 10.1 104 91 39.9 40.6 102
:
Total red meat ...: 4,158.2 4,331.7 4,590.8 110 106 17,956.8 18,154.1 101
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States
[Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : April : January to April
: April : March : April : 2024 as % :--------------------------------------------
Species : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : of 2023 : : : 2024 as %
: : : : : 2023 : 2024 : of 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent percent
:
Cattle :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 2,493.2 2,461.2 2,680.5 108 10,650.0 10,386.7 98
Other ................1,000: 50.5 48.7 48.7 96 210.8 196.0 93
Commercial ...........1,000: 2,543.7 2,509.9 2,729.2 107 10,860.8 10,582.7 97
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 1,357 1,396 1,398 103 1,372 1,393 102
Other ...............pounds: 1,209 1,223 1,227 101 1,214 1,224 101
Commercial ..........pounds: 1,354 1,392 1,395 103 1,369 1,390 102
:
Calves :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 21.4 18.2 16.8 79 102.0 75.9 74
Other ................1,000: 0.5 0.7 0.7 134 2.8 2.9 103
Commercial ...........1,000: 21.9 18.9 17.5 80 104.8 78.7 75
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 277 320 336 121 262 313 120
Other ...............pounds: 353 381 391 111 358 374 105
Commercial ..........pounds: 279 323 338 121 264 315 119
:
Hogs :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 9,724.3 10,407.1 10,700.9 110 42,149.3 43,361.9 103
Other ................1,000: 46.7 48.8 48.2 103 193.0 197.4 102
Commercial ...........1,000: 9,770.9 10,455.9 10,749.1 110 42,342.3 43,559.4 103
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 291 290 290 100 292 291 100
Other ...............pounds: 274 265 262 96 276 270 98
Commercial ..........pounds: 291 289 290 99 292 291 100
:
Sheep and lambs :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 156.7 174.7 164.5 105 618.4 643.8 104
Other ................1,000: 29.0 24.7 24.3 84 94.3 87.9 93
Commercial ...........1,000: 185.7 199.4 188.8 102 712.8 731.7 103
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 122 125 121 99 127 124 98
Other ...............pounds: 89 100 105 117 97 102 105
Commercial ..........pounds: 117 122 119 102 123 121 99
:
Goats :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 41.8 48.2 47.5 114 168.7 183.7 109
Other ................1,000: 7.3 9.8 9.0 123 30.4 38.0 125
Commercial ...........1,000: 49.1 58.0 56.5 115 199.1 221.7 111
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 64 62 64 99 65 63 97
Other ...............pounds: 86 83 79 92 86 81 94
Commercial ..........pounds: 68 66 66 98 68 66 97
:
Bison :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 5.8 6.9 6.6 112 25.8 27.8 108
Other ................1,000: 0.2 0.3 0.3 104 1.3 1.2 91
Commercial ...........1,000: 6.1 7.2 6.8 112 27.1 28.9 107
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States
[Includes total beef, veal, pork, lamb, and mutton. Totals and percentages based on
unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State : April : March : April : April 2024 as
: 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : % of 2023
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ----------- million pounds ---------- percent
:
Alabama ...............: 1.3 1.4 1.2 95
Alaska ................: (Y) (Y) (Y) (X)
Arizona ...............: 39.4 38.8 40.4 103
Arkansas ..............: 0.6 0.6 0.6 105
California ............: 102.3 97.2 98.2 96
Colorado ..............: 142.2 163.4 179.8 126
Delaware-Maryland .....: 2.4 2.6 2.5 101
Florida ...............: 7.2 5.8 7.0 98
Georgia ...............: 12.5 13.0 11.3 90
Hawaii ................: 0.7 0.7 0.8 109
:
Idaho .................: 30.8 42.3 43.1 140
Illinois ..............: 247.6 272.6 281.1 113
Indiana ...............: 144.4 152.5 159.2 110
Iowa ..................: 698.5 765.2 774.4 111
Kansas ................: 450.7 438.9 509.7 113
Kentucky ..............: 47.9 49.8 53.7 112
Louisiana .............: 0.4 0.4 0.4 109
Michigan ..............: 100.3 120.4 118.7 118
Minnesota .............: 231.1 222.0 227.6 98
Mississippi ...........: 0.8 0.9 0.8 110
:
Missouri ..............: 166.5 171.4 166.2 100
Montana ...............: 2.2 1.9 2.2 102
Nebraska ..............: 569.5 623.0 661.0 116
Nevada ................: (Y) (Y) (Y) (X)
New England 1/ ........: 2.5 2.6 2.6 103
New Jersey ............: 3.8 4.3 4.2 109
New Mexico ............: 0.4 0.4 0.4 97
New York ..............: 3.3 3.3 3.2 96
North Carolina ........: 244.3 201.5 221.5 91
North Dakota ..........: 0.8 0.7 0.8 112
:
Ohio ..................: 21.3 25.1 26.4 124
Oklahoma ..............: 98.9 110.9 123.1 124
Oregon ................: 2.3 2.3 2.2 94
Pennsylvania ..........: 119.5 123.6 133.8 112
South Carolina ........: 15.0 16.1 16.6 110
South Dakota ..........: 106.0 119.3 123.1 116
Tennessee .............: 21.2 25.0 26.6 126
Texas .................: 349.1 339.3 379.2 109
Utah ..................: 42.6 45.4 48.0 113
Virginia ..............: 1.3 1.4 1.2 93
:
Washington ............: 76.9 75.6 80.4 105
West Virginia .........: 0.9 0.9 0.9 99
Wisconsin .............: 93.3 93.0 100.7 108
Wyoming ...............: 0.7 0.8 0.7 107
:
United States .........: 4,203.4 4,376.4 4,635.5 110
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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: April 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 ..........: 1.5 1.2 1,683 1,324 1,154 1,133
Alaska ...........: (Y) 0.1 (X) 52 (X) 962
Arizona ..........: 44.6 44.8 63,257 64,527 1,422 1,443
Arkansas .........: 0.8 0.8 840 839 993 1,025
California .......: 120.1 109.7 159,930 148,831 1,341 1,367
Colorado .........: 163.2 197.0 222,077 280,514 1,362 1,425
Delaware-Maryland : 2.5 2.5 3,463 3,514 1,389 1,409
Florida ..........: 11.4 10.5 13,873 13,584 1,223 1,301
Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Hawaii ...........: 1.0 1.2 1,175 1,294 1,171 1,115
:
Idaho ............: 41.6 (D) 53,698 (D) 1,298 (D)
Illinois .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Indiana ..........: 3.9 4.8 4,767 5,725 1,210 1,204
Iowa .............: 45.0 46.9 62,644 66,273 1,392 1,416
Kansas ...........: 518.6 571.8 698,804 788,834 1,348 1,380
Kentucky .........: 5.9 7.0 6,285 8,106 1,076 1,164
Louisiana ........: 0.6 0.6 474 570 831 980
Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Minnesota ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Mississippi ......: 0.7 0.6 658 630 933 983
:
Missouri .........: 25.8 12.5 30,490 14,141 1,187 1,134
Montana ..........: 2.8 2.6 3,493 3,269 1,244 1,250
Nebraska .........: 518.7 579.9 732,255 848,580 1,413 1,465
Nevada ...........: 0.1 (Y) 70 (X) 1,252 (X)
New England 1/ ...: 2.6 2.7 3,129 3,296 1,188 1,208
New Jersey .......: 4.1 4.5 4,659 5,139 1,148 1,157
New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.5 553 542 1,149 1,079
New York .........: 3.8 3.6 4,509 4,333 1,185 1,226
North Carolina ...: 7.0 8.1 8,601 9,966 1,238 1,242
North Dakota .....: 0.9 1.0 1,198 1,337 1,271 1,291
:
Ohio .............: 6.2 6.6 8,233 8,704 1,336 1,325
Oklahoma .........: 6.2 7.0 7,353 8,112 1,200 1,177
Oregon ...........: 1.6 1.3 1,949 1,551 1,231 1,228
Pennsylvania .....: 85.3 90.8 108,763 118,644 1,280 1,313
South Carolina ...: 21.4 23.2 29,241 32,387 1,370 1,400
South Dakota .....: 33.9 40.4 47,816 60,832 1,415 1,511
Tennessee ........: 3.4 3.7 3,376 3,835 1,000 1,062
Texas ............: 438.8 462.8 572,830 622,132 1,309 1,347
Utah .............: 48.0 52.2 66,573 74,840 1,387 1,434
Virginia .........: 1.7 1.6 1,828 1,619 1,075 1,041
:
Washington .......: 90.4 91.7 126,171 130,035 1,399 1,420
West Virginia ....: 1.2 1.1 1,330 1,287 1,125 1,196
Wisconsin ........: 101.7 106.7 142,215 150,053 1,407 1,413
Wyoming ..........: 0.8 0.9 1,012 1,098 1,203 1,212
:
United States ....: 2,543.7 2,729.2 3,435,939 3,799,021 1,354 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: April 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 87 45 487 458
Hawaii ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
Idaho ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Illinois .........: 0.1 0.2 38 78 339 413
Indiana ..........: 0.6 0.5 277 189 458 412
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 41 27 236 236
New Jersey .......: 1.2 1.4 458 535 381 382
New Mexico .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
New York .........: 3.0 (D) 295 (D) 100 (D)
North Carolina ...: 0.1 0.1 30 39 292 269
North Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
Ohio .............: 3.4 2.8 775 1,060 227 377
Oklahoma .........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D)
Oregon ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Pennsylvania .....: 5.7 7.2 2,474 3,158 431 440
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 0.2 32 89 392 481
Utah .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Virginia .........: 0.1 (D) 17 (D) 270 (D)
:
Washington .......: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
West Virginia ....: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D)
Wisconsin ........: 1.9 (Y) 883 (X) 473 (X)
Wyoming ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
United States ....: 21.9 17.5 6,087 5,892 279 338
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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: April 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 ..........: 1.4 1.7 510 690 375 404
Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.1 23 22 264 314
Arizona ..........: 0.1 0.1 24 24 261 288
Arkansas .........: 0.4 0.6 112 146 252 240
California .......: 70.3 81.0 15,532 18,488 221 229
Colorado .........: 2.6 2.3 410 385 157 167
Delaware-Maryland : 1.4 1.5 401 425 280 282
Florida ..........: 4.9 4.2 613 559 124 135
Georgia ..........: 4.6 4.8 1,240 1,281 272 266
Hawaii ...........: 0.2 0.1 45 37 267 259
:
Idaho ............: 11.6 11.1 2,817 2,804 244 253
Illinois .........: 873.1 1,004.5 251,554 288,414 288 287
Indiana ..........: 676.1 743.0 188,552 207,810 279 280
Iowa .............: 3,093.9 3,415.1 891,999 992,606 288 291
Kansas ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Kentucky .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Louisiana ........: 0.3 0.2 61 55 201 257
Michigan .........: 285.4 385.3 84,469 111,858 296 290
Minnesota ........: 982.9 964.8 274,647 269,097 279 279
Mississippi ......: 2.9 3.5 518 630 176 178
:
Missouri .........: 678.1 724.5 201,426 212,354 297 293
Montana ..........: 1.2 1.2 354 340 304 279
Nebraska .........: 545.3 629.1 158,856 182,787 291 291
Nevada ...........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D)
New England 1/ ...: 2.0 1.9 590 552 292 288
New Jersey .......: 6.1 8.3 645 838 105 102
New Mexico .......: 0.2 0.2 48 50 257 244
New York .........: 2.0 1.8 522 458 267 262
North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
North Dakota .....: 0.2 0.2 60 67 315 301
:
Ohio .............: 76.0 93.4 21,487 27,500 283 295
Oklahoma .........: 420.8 519.7 124,916 155,310 297 299
Oregon ...........: 4.6 4.8 1,138 1,223 246 254
Pennsylvania .....: 250.2 289.0 71,897 81,836 287 283
South Carolina ...: 1.8 1.8 456 453 256 248
South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Tennessee ........: 65.1 80.6 29,119 36,867 448 458
Texas ............: 21.1 24.6 4,725 5,186 224 211
Utah .............: 1.8 2.0 459 591 251 300
Virginia .........: 0.9 0.9 281 281 313 305
:
Washington .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
West Virginia ....: 0.6 0.6 182 186 282 306
Wisconsin ........: 57.3 69.9 24,545 30,268 430 434
Wyoming ..........: 0.3 0.3 84 80 282 266
:
United States ....: 9,770.9 10,749.1 2,845,296 3,114,441 291 290
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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: April 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) 0.1 (X) 7 (X) 85
Alaska ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Arizona ..........: 0.2 0.7 23 84 107 127
Arkansas .........: 0.1 0.1 5 15 98 109
California .......: 23.6 22.5 3,645 3,312 155 147
Colorado .........: 31.4 34.4 5,144 5,804 164 169
Delaware-Maryland : 2.3 1.6 220 163 94 101
Florida ..........: 3.0 3.3 155 172 51 52
Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Hawaii ...........: 0.1 0.1 11 10 140 141
:
Idaho ............: 0.1 0.2 17 32 139 148
Illinois .........: 6.0 7.7 504 621 84 81
Indiana ..........: 6.6 5.9 661 589 100 101
Iowa .............: 0.1 0.1 19 16 138 122
Kansas ...........: 0.3 0.3 28 28 90 93
Kentucky .........: 1.3 1.6 133 170 103 107
Louisiana ........: 0.8 0.8 47 45 59 57
Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Minnesota ........: 0.6 0.6 44 49 80 76
Mississippi ......: 0.1 0.2 6 15 61 68
:
Missouri .........: 0.7 1.0 59 89 80 87
Montana ..........: 0.2 0.3 25 39 105 132
Nebraska .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Nevada ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
New England 1/ ...: 5.9 5.4 515 508 87 95
New Jersey .......: 18.3 16.7 1,473 1,341 80 80
New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.4 73 62 139 143
New York .........: 7.7 7.2 608 642 79 89
North Carolina ...: 2.0 3.5 127 218 63 63
North Dakota .....: (Y) 0.1 (X) 6 (X) 114
:
Ohio .............: 4.3 5.6 713 861 165 154
Oklahoma .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Oregon ...........: 4.1 4.7 658 751 159 160
Pennsylvania .....: 13.4 14.0 1,228 1,353 92 97
South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
South Dakota .....: 0.2 0.1 25 16 126 131
Tennessee ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Texas ............: 24.3 24.0 2,197 2,507 91 105
Utah .............: 1.5 1.3 196 178 133 134
Virginia .........: 0.6 1.6 47 104 75 67
:
Washington .......: 1.5 1.6 200 222 136 135
West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Wisconsin ........: 3.4 0.6 470 70 140 114
Wyoming ..........: 0.1 0.1 15 20 125 162
:
United States ....: 185.7 188.8 21,737 22,433 117 119
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 April : : : : January to April
Class : April : March : April :-----------------------: April : March : April :-----------------------
: 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --------------------- 1,000 head -------------------- ----------------- percent of total ----------------
:
Cattle :
Steers ...........: 1,146.6 1,138.1 1,256.3 4,882.9 4,880.2 46.0 46.2 46.9 45.8 47.0
Heifers ..........: 799.5 819.4 899.5 3,363.9 3,365.5 32.1 33.3 33.6 31.6 32.4
All cows .........: 504.7 466.1 478.6 2,244.9 1,988.9 20.2 18.9 17.9 21.1 19.1
Dairy cows .......: 243.6 244.6 238.2 1,114.2 985.8 9.8 9.9 8.9 10.5 9.5
Other cows .......: 261.1 221.5 240.3 1,130.7 1,003.0 10.5 9.0 9.0 10.6 9.7
Bulls ............: 42.4 37.5 46.1 158.3 152.1 1.7 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.5
:
Total ............: 2,493.2 2,461.2 2,680.5 10,650.0 10,386.7 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Calves and :
vealers ...... : 21.4 18.2 16.8 102.0 75.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Hogs :
Barrows and :
gilts ..........: 9,472.8 10,125.3 10,403.3 41,039.9 42,173.4 97.4 97.3 97.2 97.4 97.3
Sows .............: 227.7 259.8 274.1 1,008.6 1,093.9 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.5
Boars ............: 23.7 22.0 23.6 100.7 94.6 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
:
Total ............: 9,724.3 10,407.1 10,700.9 42,149.3 43,361.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Sheep :
Mature :
sheep ..........: 9.9 10.2 12.1 36.6 41.1 6.3 5.8 7.4 5.9 6.4
Lambs and :
yearlings ......: 146.9 164.5 152.3 581.8 602.7 93.7 94.2 92.6 94.1 93.6
:
Total ............: 156.7 174.7 164.5 618.4 643.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : January to April
Class : April : March : April :-----------------------
: 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: pounds
:
Cattle ............... : 818 846 848 823 842
Steers 1/ ...............: 892 923 920 902 919
Heifers 1/ ..............: 826 847 849 829 842
All cows 1/ .............: 630 648 651 639 647
Bulls 1/ ................: 874 889 912 858 888
:
Calves and vealers ... : 163 190 200 153 185
:
Hogs ................. : 217 215 216 217 216
Barrows and gilts 2/ ....: 215 213 214 215 214
Sows 2/ .................: 298 298 301 296 298
Boars 2/ ................: 192 226 220 192 223
:
Sheep ................ : 62 63 61 64 63
Mature sheep 3/ .........: 65 64 65 64 65
Lambs and yearlings 3/ ..: 62 63 61 65 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: April 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 ............: 2.4 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.1
2 ............: 7.9 2.1 2.3 3.2 2.7 0.5 0.4 2.9
3 ............: 93.2 38.2 4.6 44.1 32.4 11.7 6.4 7.4
4 ............: 70.6 6.3 2.8 53.0 12.1 40.8 8.6 0.4
5 ............: 252.7 118.0 (D) 90.1 58.7 31.4 (D) 3.4
6 ............: 463.9 216.2 141.6 95.1 33.2 61.9 10.9 (D)
7 ............:1,200.7 625.1 (D) 63.1 5.6 57.6 (D) 0.1
8 ............: 288.2 137.2 (D) 24.4 7.6 16.8 (D) (Y)
9 ............: 155.1 61.6 28.3 62.8 55.5 7.4 2.4 (D)
10 ...........: 145.8 50.6 50.6 42.2 30.2 12.0 2.4 (D)
:
United States :2,680.5 1,256.3 899.5 478.6 238.2 240.3 46.1 16.8
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hogs : Sheep
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and
: :and gilts: Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 head
:
1 ............: 1.7 1.6 (Y) (Y) 5.3 0.3 5.0
2 ............: 9.9 9.9 (Y) (Y) 23.4 2.2 21.2
3 ............: 290.4 290.2 (D) (D) 17.9 2.3 15.5
4 ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) 12.1 1.1 11.0
5 ............: 3,239.8 3,125.1 110.5 4.3 25.7 1.8 23.9
6 ............: 539.9 539.7 0.1 0.1 17.1 0.9 16.2
7 ............: 4,783.8 4,688.6 81.0 14.3 1.1 (Y) 1.1
8 ............: (D) (D) 0.7 0.1 35.6 0.7 34.8
9 ............: 77.3 77.2 (Y) (Y) 21.2 2.5 18.7
10 ...........: 17.2 17.1 0.1 (Y) 5.1 0.2 4.9
:
United States :10,700.9 10,403.3 274.1 23.6 164.5 12.1 152.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 April 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 ............: 10.1 4.0 2.8 2.2 1.2 1.0 1.1 0.6
2 ............: 31.5 8.2 8.8 13.4 11.2 2.2 1.1 13.2
3 ............: 367.6 146.3 16.9 183.0 137.5 45.5 21.4 30.9
4 ............: 288.2 20.2 9.9 226.3 58.2 168.2 31.7 1.6
5 ............: 1,005.9 467.4 (D) 377.5 234.0 143.5 (D) 14.9
6 ............: 1,798.5 794.1 592.6 375.5 134.8 240.6 36.3 (D)
7 ............: 4,586.6 2,435.1 (D) 269.7 26.2 243.4 (D) 0.3
8 ............: 1,100.3 552.7 (D) 96.3 28.0 68.4 (D) (Y)
9 ............: 625.0 243.8 108.0 266.2 231.4 34.8 7.0 (D)
10 ...........: 573.1 208.4 179.0 178.7 123.2 55.5 6.9 (D)
:
United States :10,386.7 4,880.2 3,365.5 1,988.9 985.8 1,003.0 152.1 75.9
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hogs : Sheep
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and
: :and gilts : Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 head
:
1 ............: 7.5 7.4 0.1 (Y) 18.3 0.9 17.4
2 ............: 42.2 42.0 0.1 (Y) 83.2 8.1 75.1
3 ............: 1,158.0 1,157.0 (D) (D) 65.7 8.1 57.6
4 ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) 45.6 4.0 41.6
5 ............: 13,117.9 12,644.3 455.7 17.9 104.1 6.3 97.8
6 ............: 2,054.5 2,053.7 0.6 0.3 67.4 2.5 64.9
7 ............: 19,516.6 19,145.1 315.0 56.4 4.4 0.1 4.3
8 ............: (D) (D) 1.9 0.1 144.6 3.1 141.5
9 ............: 303.1 302.9 0.1 (Y) 90.5 7.2 83.3
10 ...........: 70.7 70.5 0.2 (Y) 19.9 0.7 19.1
:
United States : 43,361.9 42,173.4 1,093.9 94.6 643.8 41.1 602.7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 Percent of Total Commercial Slaughter -
United States
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : January to April
Species : April : March : April :------------------------
: 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent
:
Cattle .......: 98.0 98.1 98.2 98.1 98.1
Calves .......: 97.6 96.1 96.0 97.3 96.4
Hogs .........: 99.5 99.5 99.6 99.5 99.5
Sheep ........: 84.4 87.6 87.1 86.8 88.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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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