Livestock Slaughter ISSN: 0499-0544 Released February 22, 2024, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Commercial Red Meat Production Up Slightly from Last Year January 2023 contained 22 weekdays (including 2 holidays) and 4 Saturdays. January 2024 contained 23 weekdays (including 2 holidays) and 4 Saturdays. Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.77 billion pounds in January, up slightly from the 4.76 billion pounds produced in January 2023. Beef production, at 2.28 billion pounds, was 2 percent below the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.73 million head, down 3 percent from January 2023. The average live weight was up 9 pounds from the previous year, at 1,389 pounds. Veal production totaled 3.9 million pounds, 12 percent below January a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 22,600 head, 26 percent below January 2023. The average live weight was up 45 pounds from last year, at 294 pounds. Pork production totaled 2.47 billion pounds, 2 percent above the previous year. Hog slaughter totaled 11.4 million head, 2 percent above January 2023. The average live weight was down 1 pound from the previous year, at 292 pounds. Lamb and mutton production, at 10.6 million pounds, was 4 percent above January 2023. Sheep slaughter totaled 171,700 head, 5 percent above last year. The average live weight was 121 pounds, down 2 pounds from January a year ago. 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: January 2023 and 2024.......... 7 Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: January 2023 and 2024............ 8 Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: January 2023 and 2024............. 9 Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: January 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: January 2024................ 12 Federally Inspected Slaughter Percent of Total Commercial Slaughter - United States.... 12 Terms and Definitions Used for Livestock Slaughter Estimates........................... 13 Statistical Methodology................................................................ 14 Information Contacts................................................................... 15 Commercial Red Meat Production - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : January 2024 as % of : January : January : December : January :---------------------------------------------------- Type : 2023 : 2023 : 2024 : January : December : : :2024 as % : : : : 2023 : 2023 : 2023 : 2024 : of 2023 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent : Beef .............: 2,324.6 2,189.9 2,280.8 98 104 2,324.6 2,280.8 98 Veal .............: 4.4 3.9 3.9 88 101 4.4 3.9 88 Pork .............: 2,425.4 2,342.0 2,472.7 102 106 2,425.4 2,472.7 102 Lamb and mutton ..: 10.2 10.7 10.6 104 99 10.2 10.6 104 : Total red meat ...: 4,764.5 4,546.4 4,767.9 100 105 4,764.5 4,767.9 100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : January 2024 as % of : January : January : December : January :---------------------------------------------------- Type : 2023 : 2023 : 2024 : January : December : : :2024 as % : : : : 2023 : 2023 : 2023 : 2024 : of 2023 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent : Beef .............: 2,287.4 2,159.0 2,246.0 98 104 2,287.4 2,246.0 98 Veal .............: 4.3 3.7 3.8 88 100 4.3 3.8 88 Pork .............: 2,415.5 2,332.4 2,462.4 102 106 2,415.5 2,462.4 102 Lamb and mutton ..: 9.2 9.5 9.6 104 101 9.2 9.6 104 : Total red meat ...: 4,716.4 4,504.7 4,721.8 100 105 4,716.4 4,721.8 100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : January : January : January : December : January : 2024 as % :-------------------------------------------- Species : 2023 : 2023 : 2024 : of 2023 : : : 2024 as % : : : : : 2023 : 2024 : of 2023 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent percent : Cattle : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 2,772.7 2,548.8 2,680.3 97 2,772.7 2,680.3 97 Other ................1,000: 54.2 44.7 50.1 92 54.2 50.1 92 Commercial ...........1,000: 2,826.8 2,593.5 2,730.4 97 2,826.8 2,730.4 97 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 1,383 1,404 1,392 101 1,383 1,392 101 Other ...............pounds: 1,222 1,220 1,226 100 1,222 1,226 100 Commercial ..........pounds: 1,380 1,401 1,389 101 1,380 1,389 101 : Calves : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 30.0 21.8 21.9 73 30.0 21.9 73 Other ................1,000: 0.6 0.6 0.7 117 0.6 0.7 117 Commercial ...........1,000: 30.6 22.5 22.6 74 30.6 22.6 74 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 246 292 292 119 246 292 119 Other ...............pounds: 374 323 349 93 374 349 93 Commercial ..........pounds: 249 293 294 118 249 294 118 : Hogs : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 11,079.6 10,775.8 11,316.8 102 11,079.6 11,316.8 102 Other ................1,000: 50.7 49.7 51.8 102 50.7 51.8 102 Commercial ...........1,000: 11,130.3 10,825.5 11,368.7 102 11,130.3 11,368.7 102 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 293 291 292 100 293 292 100 Other ...............pounds: 270 264 273 101 270 273 101 Commercial ..........pounds: 293 291 292 100 293 292 100 : Sheep and lambs : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 144.3 159.7 152.4 106 144.3 152.4 106 Other ................1,000: 18.5 22.8 19.3 104 18.5 19.3 104 Commercial ...........1,000: 162.8 182.4 171.7 105 162.8 171.7 105 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 126 117 124 98 126 124 98 Other ...............pounds: 100 99 98 97 100 98 97 Commercial ..........pounds: 123 115 121 98 123 121 98 : Goats : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 41.0 51.2 45.2 110 41.0 45.2 110 Other ................1,000: 7.4 11.6 9.5 128 7.4 9.5 128 Commercial ...........1,000: 48.4 62.8 54.7 113 48.4 54.7 113 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 66 63 63 96 66 63 96 Other ...............pounds: 87 79 77 89 87 77 89 Commercial ..........pounds: 69 66 65 95 69 65 95 : Bison : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 6.6 6.2 7.7 116 6.6 7.7 116 Other ................1,000: 0.3 0.3 0.3 98 0.3 0.3 98 Commercial ...........1,000: 6.9 6.5 8.0 115 6.9 8.0 115 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States [Includes total beef, veal, pork, lamb, and mutton. Totals and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : January : December : January : January 2024 as : 2023 : 2023 : 2024 : % of 2023 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------- million pounds ---------- percent : Alabama ...............: 1.1 1.1 1.2 113 Alaska ................: 0.1 (Y) 0.1 97 Arizona ...............: 43.8 36.7 42.2 96 Arkansas ..............: 0.6 0.4 0.6 102 California ............: 143.7 101.2 102.1 71 Colorado ..............: 170.6 161.4 178.6 105 Delaware-Maryland .....: 2.9 2.5 2.9 99 Florida ...............: 7.1 5.3 4.3 61 Georgia ...............: 13.7 12.8 13.8 101 Hawaii ................: 0.9 0.7 0.7 84 : Idaho .................: 33.9 40.0 42.1 124 Illinois ..............: 277.2 287.4 294.3 106 Indiana ...............: 168.5 158.4 174.4 104 Iowa ..................: 788.6 784.3 811.5 103 Kansas ................: 497.4 481.1 485.0 97 Kentucky ..............: 56.7 54.1 54.4 96 Louisiana .............: 0.3 0.3 0.3 96 Michigan ..............: 112.4 111.5 127.4 113 Minnesota .............: 276.8 228.7 250.9 91 Mississippi ...........: 0.8 0.8 0.8 105 : Missouri ..............: 184.8 180.7 181.5 98 Montana ...............: 1.4 1.9 1.2 81 Nebraska ..............: 654.6 660.1 664.6 102 Nevada ................: (Y) (Y) (Y) (X) New England 1/ ........: 2.7 2.8 2.8 105 New Jersey ............: 3.8 4.1 3.9 103 New Mexico ............: 0.4 0.3 0.5 113 New York ..............: 3.4 3.1 3.0 89 North Carolina ........: 256.1 223.9 245.7 96 North Dakota ..........: 0.8 0.6 0.9 104 : Ohio ..................: 23.7 23.6 26.9 113 Oklahoma ..............: 109.4 98.0 116.9 107 Oregon ................: 2.6 2.2 2.3 87 Pennsylvania ..........: 134.0 129.4 140.1 105 South Carolina ........: 15.3 15.2 17.1 111 South Dakota ..........: 122.2 127.8 131.9 108 Tennessee .............: 25.0 26.3 24.8 99 Texas .................: 391.0 361.6 386.0 99 Utah ..................: 43.0 44.0 48.4 113 Virginia ..............: 1.5 1.3 1.5 101 : Washington ............: 82.8 73.1 76.9 93 West Virginia .........: 1.1 1.1 1.2 112 Wisconsin .............: 107.1 95.9 101.4 95 Wyoming ...............: 0.9 0.7 0.8 98 : United States .........: 4,764.5 4,546.4 4,767.9 100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: January 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 ..........: 1.0 0.9 1,139 1,025 1,099 1,149 Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.1 66 66 1,094 1,100 Arizona ..........: 50.5 47.0 71,568 67,901 1,419 1,447 Arkansas .........: 0.9 0.9 877 875 1,022 1,020 California .......: 140.7 115.9 186,284 156,707 1,333 1,363 Colorado .........: 192.5 195.2 270,972 281,108 1,409 1,442 Delaware-Maryland : 2.9 2.9 4,071 4,064 1,396 1,415 Florida ..........: 11.6 6.5 13,830 7,793 1,199 1,210 Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Hawaii ...........: 1.2 1.0 1,419 1,178 1,201 1,134 : Idaho ............: 46.9 (D) 59,689 (D) 1,281 (D) Illinois .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Indiana ..........: 4.7 4.6 5,670 5,540 1,206 1,208 Iowa .............: 49.8 48.7 70,777 69,199 1,421 1,422 Kansas ...........: 558.0 550.1 775,040 757,431 1,389 1,377 Kentucky .........: 6.0 5.7 6,493 6,519 1,089 1,144 Louisiana ........: 0.6 0.5 465 447 821 923 Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Mississippi ......: 0.6 0.5 555 536 959 1,017 : Missouri .........: 31.5 24.5 37,825 29,892 1,207 1,227 Montana ..........: 1.9 1.3 2,284 1,660 1,221 1,232 Nebraska .........: 572.9 561.4 837,230 826,286 1,463 1,473 Nevada ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) New England 1/ ...: 3.0 3.0 3,507 3,555 1,157 1,188 New Jersey .......: 4.0 4.3 4,550 4,870 1,144 1,138 New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.6 546 632 1,151 1,084 New York .........: 3.7 3.4 4,405 4,066 1,217 1,199 North Carolina ...: 8.2 6.4 10,043 7,906 1,234 1,230 North Dakota .....: 1.1 1.1 1,379 1,407 1,310 1,335 : Ohio .............: 7.1 7.0 9,381 9,322 1,327 1,340 Oklahoma .........: 7.0 5.8 8,314 6,759 1,198 1,173 Oregon ...........: 2.0 1.4 2,267 1,650 1,145 1,205 Pennsylvania .....: 96.1 93.2 122,107 121,328 1,277 1,306 South Carolina ...: 22.7 24.8 29,886 33,475 1,323 1,359 South Dakota .....: 38.6 38.8 55,079 57,212 1,433 1,483 Tennessee ........: 3.1 3.2 3,010 3,332 981 1,046 Texas ............: 487.0 476.4 647,091 632,094 1,333 1,330 Utah .............: 49.1 52.8 67,948 75,935 1,385 1,439 Virginia .........: 1.7 1.8 1,880 1,937 1,096 1,051 : Washington .......: 98.5 88.5 137,508 125,071 1,400 1,416 West Virginia ....: 1.4 1.6 1,566 1,799 1,128 1,145 Wisconsin ........: 117.7 105.6 164,510 148,710 1,405 1,417 Wyoming ..........: 1.1 1.1 1,288 1,280 1,151 1,180 : United States ....: 2,826.8 2,730.4 3,891,558 3,784,251 1,380 1,389 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: January 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 93 55 476 471 Hawaii ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Idaho ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Illinois .........: 0.2 0.3 50 105 314 403 Indiana ..........: 0.6 0.6 252 216 425 389 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 0.2 58 57 286 290 New Jersey .......: 1.5 1.5 563 555 382 376 New Mexico .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New York .........: 4.5 (D) 424 (D) 95 (D) North Carolina ...: 0.1 0.2 32 51 291 284 North Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Ohio .............: 7.4 4.0 1,190 1,214 161 304 Oklahoma .........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D) Oregon ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Pennsylvania .....: 6.9 7.6 2,973 3,388 432 448 South Carolina ...: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Tennessee ........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Texas ............: 0.2 0.1 109 69 449 479 Utah .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Virginia .........: 0.1 (D) 21 (D) 289 (D) : Washington .......: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) West Virginia ....: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D) Wisconsin ........: 2.3 (Y) 1,046 (X) 461 (X) Wyoming ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : United States ....: 30.6 22.6 7,579 6,607 249 294 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: January 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 2.2 656 941 406 420 Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.1 28 25 275 243 Arizona ..........: 0.1 0.1 19 26 310 328 Arkansas .........: 0.4 0.5 109 135 267 259 California .......: 195.6 79.4 52,659 18,245 270 230 Colorado .........: 3.4 3.1 515 450 154 143 Delaware-Maryland : 1.9 2.0 552 545 287 279 Florida ..........: 3.4 3.7 471 546 139 147 Georgia ..........: 5.2 5.3 1,414 1,455 271 273 Hawaii ...........: 0.2 0.2 53 40 256 265 : Idaho ............: 12.2 13.3 3,476 3,385 285 255 Illinois .........: 979.5 1,068.8 284,162 309,306 290 290 Indiana ..........: 776.4 816.8 219,873 228,234 283 280 Iowa .............: 3,483.4 3,528.5 1,009,492 1,041,499 290 295 Kansas ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Kentucky .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Louisiana ........: 0.2 0.3 51 57 211 229 Michigan .........: 325.2 392.9 96,317 115,181 296 293 Minnesota ........: 1,140.0 1,062.5 323,718 299,018 284 281 Mississippi ......: 3.7 3.9 609 680 164 175 : Missouri .........: 742.8 738.7 221,601 222,406 298 301 Montana ..........: 0.7 0.7 196 202 295 288 Nebraska .........: 653.1 700.8 190,850 207,326 292 296 Nevada ...........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D) New England 1/ ...: 2.3 2.6 673 751 299 288 New Jersey .......: 9.6 9.1 862 862 90 95 New Mexico .......: 0.2 0.3 56 82 257 267 New York .........: 2.8 2.0 718 479 255 245 North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Dakota .....: 0.2 0.2 58 63 291 308 : Ohio .............: 79.7 95.0 23,352 27,723 293 292 Oklahoma .........: 468.4 489.7 138,824 146,951 296 300 Oregon ...........: 4.7 5.1 1,346 1,296 284 255 Pennsylvania .....: 281.8 305.5 81,588 88,624 290 290 South Carolina ...: 1.9 1.8 493 441 255 249 South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Tennessee ........: 79.3 76.9 35,261 34,691 445 452 Texas ............: 24.7 22.6 4,935 4,581 200 203 Utah .............: 2.0 2.0 538 506 267 253 Virginia .........: 1.2 1.3 442 399 354 317 : Washington .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) West Virginia ....: 0.7 0.8 207 236 316 299 Wisconsin ........: 67.1 78.1 28,517 33,721 426 433 Wyoming ..........: 0.3 0.3 91 70 278 265 : United States ....: 11,130.3 11,368.7 3,259,963 3,323,260 293 292 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: January 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 ..........: 0.1 0.7 9 76 93 117 Arkansas .........: 0.1 0.1 8 10 92 98 California .......: 21.6 22.7 3,027 3,293 141 145 Colorado .........: 31.5 32.3 5,055 5,268 160 163 Delaware-Maryland : 2.2 1.7 219 174 100 102 Florida ..........: 2.0 2.7 107 139 53 52 Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Hawaii ...........: 0.1 0.1 12 16 138 132 : Idaho ............: 0.3 0.2 39 25 147 143 Illinois .........: 5.1 5.9 483 505 95 85 Indiana ..........: 5.9 5.5 608 553 104 101 Iowa .............: 0.2 0.1 22 17 146 122 Kansas ...........: 0.4 0.2 39 20 93 87 Kentucky .........: 1.2 1.5 121 150 99 98 Louisiana ........: 0.6 0.7 34 41 57 60 Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: 0.7 0.6 55 47 76 73 Mississippi ......: 0.1 0.1 9 11 66 75 : Missouri .........: 0.8 0.8 59 59 75 78 Montana ..........: 0.4 0.3 46 37 110 113 Nebraska .........: 0.1 0.1 8 7 127 116 Nevada ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) New England 1/ ...: 3.6 4.1 343 380 95 93 New Jersey .......: 14.3 13.2 1,172 1,078 82 82 New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.4 64 59 136 141 New York .........: 5.4 6.0 493 531 92 89 North Carolina ...: 1.9 2.7 122 165 64 61 North Dakota .....: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) : Ohio .............: 4.6 5.0 744 778 162 155 Oklahoma .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Oregon ...........: 4.9 4.5 652 694 132 156 Pennsylvania .....: 9.9 12.4 973 1,242 98 100 South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) South Dakota .....: 0.2 0.2 22 24 128 123 Tennessee ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Texas ............: 16.8 21.6 2,052 2,405 122 111 Utah .............: 1.6 1.5 225 196 137 133 Virginia .........: 0.8 1.0 61 68 72 67 : Washington .......: 1.5 1.4 207 188 135 136 West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Wisconsin ........: 2.9 0.9 457 107 158 126 Wyoming ..........: 0.1 0.1 15 15 143 137 : United States ....: 162.8 171.7 20,089 20,800 123 121 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 : : : : January Class : January : December : January :-----------------------: January : December : January :----------------------- : 2023 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------------------- 1,000 head -------------------- ----------------- percent of total ---------------- : Cattle : Steers ...........: 1,270.9 1,197.8 1,286.5 1,270.9 1,286.5 45.8 47.0 48.0 45.8 48.0 Heifers ..........: 848.0 797.2 834.1 848.0 834.1 30.6 31.3 31.1 30.6 31.1 All cows .........: 615.9 516.6 528.0 615.9 528.0 22.2 20.3 19.7 22.2 19.7 Dairy cows .......: 297.9 224.7 250.2 297.9 250.2 10.7 8.8 9.3 10.7 9.3 Other cows .......: 318.0 291.9 277.8 318.0 277.8 11.5 11.5 10.4 11.5 10.4 Bulls ............: 37.9 37.2 31.6 37.9 31.6 1.4 1.5 1.2 1.4 1.2 : Total ............: 2,772.7 2,548.8 2,680.3 2,772.7 2,680.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Calves and : vealers ...... : 30.0 21.8 21.9 30.0 21.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Hogs : Barrows and : gilts ..........: 10,789.3 10,498.5 11,006.5 10,789.3 11,006.5 97.4 97.4 97.3 97.4 97.3 Sows .............: 266.9 254.2 286.0 266.9 286.0 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.5 Boars ............: 23.4 23.2 24.3 23.4 24.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 : Total ............: 11,079.6 10,775.8 11,316.8 11,079.6 11,316.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Sheep : Mature : sheep ..........: 9.6 10.2 9.7 9.6 9.7 6.7 6.4 6.4 6.7 6.4 Lambs and : yearlings ......: 134.6 149.5 142.7 134.6 142.7 93.3 93.6 93.6 93.3 93.6 : Total ............: 144.3 159.7 152.4 144.3 152.4 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : January Class : January : December : January :----------------------- : 2023 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : pounds : Cattle ............... : 827 849 840 827 840 Steers 1/ ...............: 913 941 921 913 921 Heifers 1/ ..............: 832 851 836 832 836 All cows 1/ .............: 639 628 644 639 644 Bulls 1/ ................: 843 862 868 843 868 : Calves and vealers ... : 143 172 172 143 172 : Hogs ................. : 218 217 218 218 218 Barrows and gilts 2/ ....: 216 215 216 216 216 Sows 2/ .................: 296 296 295 296 295 Boars 2/ ................: 194 218 223 194 223 : Sheep ................ : 64 60 63 64 63 Mature sheep 3/ .........: 62 64 64 62 64 Lambs and yearlings 3/ ..: 64 59 63 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: January 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 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 2 ............: 7.7 2.1 2.2 3.2 2.7 0.5 0.2 4.1 3 ............: 95.4 38.6 3.6 49.0 37.8 11.2 4.2 7.7 4 ............: 71.1 4.7 2.4 57.4 15.2 42.2 6.6 0.4 5 ............: 259.4 118.9 (D) 100.2 58.7 41.5 (D) 4.7 6 ............: 478.0 201.8 168.3 100.2 33.3 66.9 7.7 (D) 7 ............:1,173.9 644.7 (D) 75.6 7.1 68.5 (D) (Y) 8 ............: 284.7 156.7 (D) 24.6 6.3 18.2 (D) (Y) 9 ............: 163.3 65.1 24.7 72.0 59.6 12.4 1.6 (D) 10 ...........: 144.3 53.0 44.6 45.3 29.2 16.1 1.4 (D) : United States :2,680.3 1,286.5 834.1 528.0 250.2 277.8 31.6 21.9 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and : :and gilts: Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 2.3 2.3 (Y) (Y) 4.0 0.2 3.8 2 ............: 11.0 10.9 0.1 (Y) 18.6 1.8 16.8 3 ............: 306.6 306.3 (D) (D) 15.9 2.2 13.7 4 ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) 10.7 1.0 9.7 5 ............: 3,490.3 3,360.5 125.8 4.0 25.7 1.5 24.2 6 ............: 509.3 509.0 0.2 0.1 17.2 0.6 16.6 7 ............: 4,980.7 4,886.9 79.2 14.6 0.9 (Y) 0.9 8 ............: (D) (D) 0.3 (Y) 33.6 0.8 32.8 9 ............: 76.1 76.1 (Y) (Y) 21.1 1.5 19.6 10 ...........: 19.5 19.5 (Y) (Y) 4.7 0.2 4.6 : United States :11,316.8 11,006.5 286.0 24.3 152.4 9.7 142.7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 Species : January : December : January :------------------------ : 2023 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent : Cattle .......: 98.1 98.3 98.2 98.1 98.2 Calves .......: 98.1 97.2 97.1 98.1 97.1 Hogs .........: 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 Sheep ........: 88.6 87.5 88.7 88.6 88.7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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