Livestock Slaughter ISSN: 0499-0544 Released April 22, 2021, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Record High Red Meat and Beef Production in March March 2020 contained 22 weekdays (including 0 holidays) and 4 Saturdays. March 2021 contained 23 weekdays (including 0 holidays) and 4 Saturdays. Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 5.05 billion pounds in March, up 1 percent from the 5.00 billion pounds produced in March 2020. Beef production, at 2.48 billion pounds, was 3 percent above the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 3.01 million head, up 3 percent from March 2020. The average live weight was up 4 pounds from the previous year, at 1,372 pounds. Veal production totaled 4.9 million pounds, 15 percent below March a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 31,600 head, down 27 percent from March 2020. The average live weight was up 34 pounds from last year, at 266 pounds. Pork production totaled 2.55 billion pounds, down 1 percent from the previous year. Hog slaughter totaled 11.7 million head, down 2 percent from March 2020. The average live weight was up 3 pounds from the previous year, at 291 pounds. Lamb and mutton production, at 13.9 million pounds, was up 13 percent from March 2020. Sheep slaughter totaled 213,700 head, 14 percent above last year. The average live weight was 130 pounds, down 1 pound from March a year ago. January to March 2021 commercial red meat production was 14.2 billion pounds, down 1 percent from 2020. Accumulated beef production was down 1 percent from last year, veal was down 18 percent, pork was down 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: March 2020 and 2021.......... 7 Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: March 2020 and 2021............ 8 Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: March 2020 and 2021............. 9 Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: March 2020 and 2021.. 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: March 2021................ 12 Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: January to March 2021..... 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] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : March 2021 as % of : January to March : March : February : March :---------------------------------------------------- Type : 2020 : 2021 : 2021 : March : February : : :2021 as % : : : : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 : of 2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent : Beef .............: 2,411.2 2,105.5 2,480.6 103 118 6,930.6 6,895.2 99 Veal .............: 5.8 4.7 4.9 85 104 17.3 14.2 82 Pork .............: 2,566.5 2,265.3 2,548.4 99 112 7,426.2 7,291.2 98 Lamb and mutton ..: 12.3 10.8 13.9 113 129 34.9 35.1 101 : Total red meat ...: 4,995.7 4,386.3 5,047.8 101 115 14,409.0 14,235.6 99 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : March 2021 as % of : January to March : March : February : March :---------------------------------------------------- Type : 2020 : 2021 : 2021 : March : February : : :2021 as % : : : : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 : of 2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent : Beef .............: 2,379.2 2,070.7 2,438.8 103 118 6,840.2 6,781.2 99 Veal .............: 5.6 4.6 4.7 84 103 16.9 13.8 82 Pork .............: 2,555.2 2,255.2 2,536.3 99 112 7,395.2 7,257.7 98 Lamb and mutton ..: 11.3 9.7 12.7 113 131 31.8 31.9 100 : Total red meat ...: 4,951.3 4,340.2 4,992.5 101 115 14,284.0 14,084.6 99 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : March : January to March : March : February : March : 2021 as % :-------------------------------------------- Species : 2020 : 2021 : 2021 : of 2020 : : : 2021 as % : : : : : 2020 : 2021 : of 2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent percent : Cattle : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 2,874.6 2,472.5 2,946.4 102 8,267.9 8,109.8 98 Other ................1,000: 47.7 50.1 60.0 126 134.0 163.9 122 Commercial ...........1,000: 2,922.3 2,522.7 3,006.4 103 8,401.9 8,273.7 98 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 1,371 1,394 1,376 100 1,376 1,390 101 Other ...............pounds: 1,182 1,215 1,219 103 1,190 1,216 102 Commercial ..........pounds: 1,368 1,390 1,372 100 1,373 1,387 101 : Calves : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 42.5 32.5 30.9 73 130.8 95.1 73 Other ................1,000: 0.7 0.5 0.7 98 2.1 1.8 83 Commercial ...........1,000: 43.2 33.0 31.6 73 132.9 96.9 73 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 230 245 263 115 224 251 112 Other ...............pounds: 363 377 393 108 364 374 103 Commercial ..........pounds: 232 247 266 115 227 253 112 : Hogs : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 11,882.8 10,376.1 11,677.8 98 34,313.3 33,245.6 97 Other ................1,000: 59.0 52.0 62.0 105 165.5 172.2 104 Commercial ...........1,000: 11,941.8 10,428.1 11,739.8 98 34,478.7 33,417.7 97 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 288 291 291 101 289 292 101 Other ...............pounds: 261 267 268 102 257 266 103 Commercial ..........pounds: 288 291 291 101 289 292 101 : Sheep and lambs : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 165.0 142.8 188.5 114 468.9 471.9 101 Other ................1,000: 22.8 20.8 25.2 111 66.0 67.1 102 Commercial ...........1,000: 187.7 163.6 213.7 114 534.9 539.1 101 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 136 136 135 99 135 135 100 Other ...............pounds: 95 101 95 100 97 97 101 Commercial ..........pounds: 131 132 130 99 131 130 100 : Goats : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 44.4 31.4 41.9 94 125.2 111.3 89 Other ................1,000: 9.0 6.7 7.6 84 26.7 21.7 82 Commercial ...........1,000: 53.4 38.0 49.5 93 151.9 133.0 88 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 65 65 66 101 65 65 101 Other ...............pounds: 83 88 86 104 85 86 102 Commercial ..........pounds: 68 69 69 101 68 69 101 : Bison : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 5.8 4.8 5.7 98 15.2 15.7 103 Other ................1,000: 0.6 0.2 0.5 90 1.7 1.1 63 Commercial ...........1,000: 6.4 5.0 6.2 98 16.9 16.8 99 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States [Includes total beef, veal, pork, lamb, and mutton. Totals and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : March : February : March : March 2021 as : 2020 : 2021 : 2021 : % of 2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------- million pounds ---------- percent : Alabama ...............: 0.9 0.8 1.2 140 Alaska ................: 0.1 0.1 0.1 109 Arizona ...............: 40.3 42.3 44.5 110 Arkansas ..............: 0.5 0.6 0.6 121 California ............: 153.3 143.1 163.8 107 Colorado ..............: 194.2 168.7 174.6 90 Delaware-Maryland .....: 3.2 2.8 3.3 103 Florida ...............: 3.4 4.6 5.9 176 Georgia ...............: 15.3 12.6 15.7 103 Hawaii ................: 0.9 0.8 0.9 104 : Idaho .................: 33.9 30.4 33.6 99 Illinois ..............: 316.9 268.8 301.9 95 Indiana ...............: 162.0 147.3 163.3 101 Iowa ..................: 806.1 702.0 787.4 98 Kansas ................: 525.9 432.6 547.1 104 Kentucky ..............: 56.1 45.8 54.3 97 Louisiana .............: 0.4 0.3 0.5 106 Michigan ..............: 104.0 105.2 118.9 114 Minnesota .............: 251.5 233.7 272.5 108 Mississippi ...........: 0.6 0.6 0.8 133 : Missouri ..............: 181.2 157.0 180.9 100 Montana ...............: 1.4 1.2 1.9 136 Nebraska ..............: 709.9 631.1 692.9 98 Nevada ................: 0.1 0.1 0.1 84 New England 1/ ........: 2.6 2.6 3.0 114 New Jersey ............: 3.6 3.3 3.9 108 New Mexico ............: 0.4 0.4 0.5 106 New York ..............: 3.2 3.1 3.6 112 North Carolina ........: 248.0 239.9 257.8 104 North Dakota ..........: 0.7 0.8 0.9 143 : Ohio ..................: 24.6 23.3 26.2 107 Oklahoma ..............: 121.0 107.7 117.0 97 Oregon ................: 4.0 4.0 4.7 119 Pennsylvania ..........: 131.8 112.0 137.6 104 South Carolina ........: 15.2 14.4 17.1 112 South Dakota ..........: 141.4 122.5 138.2 98 Tennessee .............: 25.6 22.1 30.6 119 Texas .................: 408.0 338.3 437.6 107 Utah ..................: 51.0 49.1 53.0 104 Virginia ..............: 52.7 37.6 41.5 79 : Washington ............: 85.7 72.8 84.1 98 West Virginia .........: 0.9 0.8 0.8 94 Wisconsin .............: 112.9 98.3 122.2 108 Wyoming ...............: 0.4 0.8 0.9 218 : United States .........: 4,995.7 4,386.3 5,047.8 101 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Commercial Cattle Slaughter - States and United States: March 2020 and 2021 [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head --- --- 1,000 pounds --- ---- pounds ---- : Alabama ..........: 0.7 1.3 761 1,397 1,086 1,112 Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.1 80 84 1,143 962 Arizona ..........: 47.6 50.9 65,866 71,803 1,387 1,412 Arkansas .........: 0.6 0.8 588 787 930 1,020 California .......: 144.2 147.7 193,773 200,311 1,351 1,364 Colorado .........: 213.4 192.4 301,418 270,758 1,413 1,408 Delaware-Maryland : 3.3 3.4 4,652 4,798 1,397 1,398 Florida ..........: (D) 8.7 (D) 11,073 (D) 1,273 Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Hawaii ...........: 1.3 1.2 1,391 1,436 1,113 1,181 : Idaho ............: 45.2 44.6 59,336 58,545 1,324 1,323 Illinois .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Indiana ..........: 3.6 4.9 4,204 5,935 1,175 1,212 Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Kansas ...........: 596.4 622.7 811,289 845,207 1,361 1,358 Kentucky .........: 3.6 4.4 3,792 4,924 1,051 1,129 Louisiana ........: 0.6 0.6 491 559 832 899 Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Mississippi ......: 0.5 0.7 423 644 883 921 : Missouri .........: 5.7 9.1 6,221 10,469 1,102 1,153 Montana ..........: 1.6 2.1 1,968 2,727 1,240 1,299 Nebraska .........: 624.0 607.4 901,001 884,097 1,445 1,457 Nevada ...........: 0.1 (D) 109 (D) 1,102 (D) New England 1/ ...: 3.0 3.2 3,505 3,770 1,174 1,191 New Jersey .......: 4.3 4.0 4,789 4,446 1,117 1,120 New Mexico .......: 0.7 0.6 701 628 1,067 1,119 New York .........: 3.5 3.8 4,161 4,589 1,211 1,236 North Carolina ...: 7.8 8.8 9,554 10,807 1,225 1,231 North Dakota .....: 0.8 1.2 1,064 1,537 1,307 1,316 : Ohio .............: 6.9 7.5 9,039 9,964 1,307 1,328 Oklahoma .........: 3.0 5.3 2,798 6,451 929 1,207 Oregon ...........: 1.3 1.7 1,518 2,052 1,161 1,196 Pennsylvania .....: 94.1 96.4 115,661 120,468 1,235 1,256 South Carolina ...: 22.6 24.8 29,541 33,311 1,314 1,351 South Dakota .....: 44.8 47.1 64,761 68,827 1,453 1,469 Tennessee ........: 3.0 3.9 2,960 4,105 1,004 1,076 Texas ............: 504.4 544.1 658,640 710,013 1,309 1,309 Utah .............: 60.7 61.3 81,598 84,366 1,347 1,379 Virginia .........: 1.6 2.3 1,647 2,373 1,028 1,048 : Washington .......: 99.8 98.3 140,050 138,211 1,406 1,409 West Virginia ....: 1.2 1.1 1,289 1,196 1,052 1,123 Wisconsin ........: 121.3 131.0 169,283 183,697 1,403 1,409 Wyoming ..........: 0.5 1.1 558 1,314 1,120 1,190 : United States ....: 2,922.3 3,006.4 3,989,980 4,116,566 1,368 1,372 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: March 2020 and 2021 [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -- 1,000 head -- 1,000 pounds --- pounds --- : Alabama ..........: (Y) 0.1 (X) 37 (X) 449 Alaska ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Arizona ..........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D) Arkansas .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) California .......: 4.5 4.4 575 553 133 130 Colorado .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Delaware-Maryland : (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Florida ..........: 0.1 0.1 34 55 403 485 Georgia ..........: 0.1 0.2 43 83 462 502 Hawaii ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Idaho ............: 3.7 (D) 341 (D) 93 (D) Illinois .........: 0.1 0.1 33 26 423 325 Indiana ..........: 0.5 0.5 158 218 333 411 Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Kansas ...........: 0.1 (Y) 30 (X) 493 (X) Kentucky .........: 0.1 (Y) 18 (X) 337 (X) Louisiana ........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Michigan .........: 0.1 0.1 40 40 400 400 Minnesota ........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D) Mississippi ......: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D) : Missouri .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (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/ ...: 0.3 0.3 78 69 253 237 New Jersey .......: 1.7 1.8 636 677 369 377 New Mexico .......: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) New York .........: 8.4 4.8 711 419 85 88 North Carolina ...: 0.1 0.1 30 32 380 391 North Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Ohio .............: 9.1 5.7 1,537 1,016 169 181 Oklahoma .........: 0.1 (Y) 16 (X) 310 (X) Oregon ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Pennsylvania .....: 8.6 7.9 3,692 3,477 429 438 South Carolina ...: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Tennessee ........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D) Texas ............: 0.2 0.2 77 93 417 431 Utah .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Virginia .........: 0.1 (D) 17 (D) 279 (D) : Washington .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Wisconsin ........: 3.7 2.6 1,685 1,258 454 483 Wyoming ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : United States ....: 43.2 31.6 9,961 8,356 232 266 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: March 2020 and 2021 [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head ---- --- 1,000 pounds --- --- pounds --- : Alabama ..........: 1.7 1.6 688 645 404 405 Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.2 36 42 268 274 Arizona ..........: 0.1 0.1 40 42 278 309 Arkansas .........: 0.6 0.4 158 122 266 284 California .......: 226.1 240.0 58,562 65,169 259 272 Colorado .........: 1.6 1.5 374 392 240 262 Delaware-Maryland : 1.5 1.5 417 432 270 279 Florida ..........: 4.8 5.2 655 735 135 143 Georgia ..........: 6.0 5.7 1,483 1,522 248 266 Hawaii ...........: 0.3 0.3 80 87 277 273 : Idaho ............: 15.2 14.7 4,081 4,193 268 285 Illinois .........: 1,156.6 1,107.4 334,248 319,310 289 288 Indiana ..........: 759.9 764.7 212,933 213,494 280 279 Iowa .............: 3,628.9 3,491.8 1,037,820 1,007,504 286 289 Kansas ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Kentucky .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Louisiana ........: 0.7 0.6 168 147 252 227 Michigan .........: 284.6 340.1 83,757 100,084 294 294 Minnesota ........: 1,066.3 1,115.0 295,155 310,492 277 279 Mississippi ......: 2.4 3.4 447 591 184 176 : Missouri .........: 809.7 785.4 237,229 233,385 293 297 Montana ..........: 1.1 1.3 327 367 310 288 Nebraska .........: 723.9 699.7 208,537 202,222 288 289 Nevada ...........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D) New England 1/ ...: 2.4 2.7 682 776 282 287 New Jersey .......: 4.3 7.2 476 806 110 112 New Mexico .......: 0.2 0.2 50 51 254 278 New York .........: 1.7 2.8 458 714 269 251 North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Dakota .....: 0.2 0.2 55 64 305 291 : Ohio .............: 89.0 92.2 24,925 26,380 280 287 Oklahoma .........: 534.0 495.0 156,289 148,337 293 300 Oregon ...........: 13.9 14.8 3,727 4,210 269 285 Pennsylvania .....: 303.5 305.5 83,816 86,596 276 284 South Carolina ...: 2.4 2.2 581 553 245 248 South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Tennessee ........: 79.4 97.6 36,258 42,543 457 436 Texas ............: 24.4 25.9 5,382 6,073 221 235 Utah .............: 3.8 (D) 721 (D) 193 (D) Virginia .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Washington .......: 2.1 2.2 528 536 251 245 West Virginia ....: 0.7 0.5 203 153 295 312 Wisconsin ........: 73.4 81.0 31,939 33,939 436 420 Wyoming ..........: 0.2 0.3 68 76 286 294 : United States ....: 11,941.8 11,739.8 3,436,551 3,413,489 288 291 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: March 2020 and 2021 [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --- 1,000 head -- -- 1,000 pounds -- --- pounds --- : Alabama ..........: 0.1 (D) 4 (D) 65 (D) Alaska ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Arizona ..........: 0.2 0.2 28 21 134 111 Arkansas .........: 0.1 0.1 7 11 138 127 California .......: 25.5 30.2 3,954 4,481 155 149 Colorado .........: 59.2 55.1 9,683 9,083 164 165 Delaware-Maryland : 2.7 2.9 253 289 94 100 Florida ..........: 2.2 3.2 127 164 59 51 Georgia ..........: 2.0 1.7 131 116 64 68 Hawaii ...........: 0.1 0.1 7 15 135 125 : Idaho ............: 0.1 0.2 12 25 131 152 Illinois .........: 3.9 5.0 282 375 72 75 Indiana ..........: 5.4 7.1 620 838 115 118 Iowa .............: 0.1 0.2 17 27 151 164 Kansas ...........: 0.4 0.4 31 41 87 94 Kentucky .........: 1.5 2.1 177 214 120 104 Louisiana ........: 0.4 0.4 25 27 62 69 Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: 0.4 0.5 37 45 97 92 Mississippi ......: 1.3 0.5 78 29 62 63 : Missouri .........: 1.0 0.8 78 70 81 84 Montana ..........: 0.3 0.4 48 51 147 144 Nebraska .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Nevada ...........: 0.1 (D) 9 (D) 130 (D) New England 1/ ...: 3.0 4.6 284 473 95 102 New Jersey .......: 12.8 16.5 993 1,325 78 80 New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.8 73 116 140 151 New York .........: 4.2 5.9 447 580 107 99 North Carolina ...: 2.7 2.5 185 170 69 69 North Dakota .....: (Y) 0.1 (X) 8 (X) 120 : Ohio .............: 5.8 6.1 941 1,009 163 165 Oklahoma .........: 1.4 (D) 121 (D) 87 (D) Oregon ...........: 4.3 5.7 617 845 143 148 Pennsylvania .....: 7.3 9.5 795 1,032 109 109 South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) South Dakota .....: 0.3 0.2 39 24 145 128 Tennessee ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Texas ............: 15.6 19.4 1,284 1,991 82 102 Utah .............: 2.2 2.4 298 335 138 139 Virginia .........: 0.8 1.3 55 86 71 67 : Washington .......: 0.9 1.3 121 185 138 141 West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Wisconsin ........: 0.8 4.9 111 749 143 154 Wyoming ..........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) : United States ....: 187.7 213.7 24,573 27,782 131 130 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 March : : : : January to March Class : March : February : March :-----------------------: March : February : March :----------------------- : 2020 : 2021 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------------------- 1,000 head -------------------- ----------------- percent of total ---------------- : Cattle : Steers ...........: 1,377.6 1,170.3 1,391.2 3,965.3 3,855.4 47.9 47.3 47.2 48.0 47.5 Heifers ..........: 900.6 768.3 908.8 2,518.5 2,477.7 31.3 31.1 30.8 30.5 30.6 All cows .........: 557.6 504.9 599.2 1,668.8 1,662.6 19.4 20.4 20.3 20.2 20.5 Dairy cows .......: 288.0 265.2 302.2 852.5 844.7 10.0 10.7 10.3 10.3 10.4 Other cows .......: 269.6 239.7 297.0 816.3 817.9 9.4 9.7 10.1 9.9 10.1 Bulls ............: 38.9 29.1 47.2 115.3 114.1 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.4 1.4 : Total ............: 2,874.6 2,472.5 2,946.4 8,267.9 8,109.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Calves and : vealers ...... : 42.5 32.5 30.9 130.8 95.1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Hogs : Barrows and : gilts ..........: 11,568.5 10,110.9 11,341.6 33,408.5 32,347.0 97.4 97.4 97.1 97.4 97.3 Sows .............: 283.1 241.2 308.4 814.4 820.6 2.4 2.3 2.6 2.4 2.5 Boars ............: 31.2 24.0 27.8 90.4 78.0 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 : Total ............: 11,882.8 10,376.1 11,677.8 34,313.3 33,245.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Sheep : Mature : sheep ..........: 8.8 7.9 11.3 25.9 28.2 5.3 5.5 6.0 5.5 6.0 Lambs and : yearlings ......: 156.2 134.9 177.2 443.0 443.8 94.7 94.5 94.0 94.5 94.0 : Total ............: 165.0 142.8 188.5 468.9 471.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : January to March Class : March : February : March :----------------------- : 2020 : 2021 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : pounds : Cattle ............... : 830 839 830 829 838 Steers 1/ ...............: 897 911 900 901 911 Heifers 1/ ..............: 831 843 832 832 842 All cows 1/ .............: 656 663 656 651 658 Bulls 1/ ................: 868 888 890 866 888 : Calves and vealers ... : 133 142 154 130 146 : Hogs ................. : 215 217 217 216 218 Barrows and gilts 2/ ....: 213 216 215 214 216 Sows 2/ .................: 304 296 298 304 298 Boars 2/ ................: 193 182 196 192 189 : Sheep ................ : 68 68 68 68 68 Mature sheep 3/ .........: 65 64 66 66 65 Lambs and yearlings 3/ ..: 68 68 68 68 68 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: March 2021 [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 ............: 2.9 1.2 (D) 0.6 0.2 0.4 (D) 0.3 2 ............: 7.7 2.2 1.7 3.3 3.2 0.2 0.4 6.6 3 ............: 99.6 35.8 3.8 55.8 49.0 6.8 4.2 8.2 4 ............: 76.5 5.0 2.0 59.7 16.5 43.1 9.9 0.3 5 ............: 305.8 135.5 (D) 124.8 72.0 52.7 (D) 8.8 6 ............: 542.9 255.9 174.2 103.2 35.2 68.0 9.4 0.1 7 ............:1,269.7 678.4 515.8 67.1 11.2 56.0 8.4 0.1 8 ............: 298.2 147.2 109.6 39.6 9.4 30.2 1.8 (D) 9 ............: 199.3 87.2 24.3 85.9 69.7 16.1 1.9 4.2 10 ...........: 143.8 42.9 39.1 59.1 35.7 23.4 2.7 (D) : United States :2,946.4 1,391.2 908.8 599.2 302.2 297.0 47.2 30.9 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and : :and gilts: Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 2.4 2.4 (Y) (Y) 4.5 0.5 4.0 2 ............: 10.0 9.9 (Y) (Y) 21.8 2.1 19.7 3 ............: 483.9 482.9 (D) (D) 14.5 1.4 13.1 4 ............: (D) (D) 91.4 (D) 11.2 1.1 10.1 5 ............: 3,476.3 3,327.0 142.6 6.7 34.7 2.7 32.1 6 ............: 512.0 511.9 (D) (D) 8.2 0.6 7.6 7 ............: 4,993.2 4,904.9 72.9 15.3 1.1 (Y) 1.1 8 ............: (D) (D) (D) (Y) 57.2 1.9 55.3 9 ............: 237.0 236.9 (Y) (Y) 29.0 0.7 28.3 10 ...........: 31.4 31.3 (Y) (Y) 6.4 0.4 5.9 : United States :11,677.8 11,341.6 308.4 27.8 188.5 11.3 177.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 March 2021 [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 ............: 8.1 3.4 (D) 1.5 0.6 0.9 (D) 0.7 2 ............: 20.9 6.1 4.7 9.1 8.6 0.5 1.0 19.8 3 ............: 262.8 90.7 8.8 153.8 134.3 19.5 9.4 22.3 4 ............: 204.5 14.1 4.8 161.5 49.0 112.5 24.1 0.9 5 ............: 850.7 370.9 (D) 352.1 200.7 151.4 (D) 32.1 6 ............:1,438.0 677.5 464.9 271.7 91.7 180.0 23.9 0.1 7 ............:3,500.9 1,906.8 1,392.0 183.3 29.5 153.8 18.8 0.1 8 ............: 862.6 436.3 310.0 111.8 26.2 85.6 4.5 (D) 9 ............: 556.9 236.7 68.0 247.3 206.4 40.8 4.9 12.6 10 ...........: 404.3 112.8 114.6 170.5 97.6 72.8 6.4 (D) : United States :8,109.8 3,855.4 2,477.7 1,662.6 844.7 817.9 114.1 95.1 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and : :and gilts : Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 6.9 6.8 0.1 (Y) 10.6 1.0 9.5 2 ............: 26.9 26.8 0.1 0.1 52.9 5.2 47.7 3 ............: 1,363.1 1,360.3 (D) (D) 35.3 4.0 31.2 4 ............: (D) (D) 238.4 (D) 26.7 2.8 23.9 5 ............: 9,866.8 9,472.8 377.0 17.0 86.1 6.4 79.6 6 ............: 1,540.3 1,539.8 (D) (D) 16.1 1.2 14.9 7 ............: 14,253.0 14,006.3 200.5 46.2 2.7 0.1 2.7 8 ............: (D) (D) (D) (Y) 149.9 4.7 145.2 9 ............: 656.3 656.2 0.1 (Y) 76.1 1.9 74.3 10 ...........: 86.2 86.1 0.1 (Y) 15.6 0.9 14.7 : United States : 33,245.6 32,347.0 820.6 78.0 471.9 28.2 443.8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 March Species : March : February : March :------------------------ : 2020 : 2021 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent : Cattle .......: 98.4 98.0 98.0 98.4 98.0 Calves .......: 98.3 98.4 97.7 98.4 98.2 Hogs .........: 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 Sheep ........: 87.9 87.3 88.2 87.7 87.6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 850 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 Logan Hartley-Sanguinett - Sheep and Goats ... (202) 690-3236 Mike Miller - Milk Production and Milk Cows .. (202) 720-3278 Suzanne Richards - Dairy Products ............ (202) 720-4448 Seth Riggins - Hogs and Pigs ................. 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