Total Red Meat Production Down Slightly in 2013

Total red meat production for the United States totaled 49.3 billion pounds in 2013, slightly lower than the previous year.  Red meat includes beef, veal, pork, and lamb and mutton.  Red meat production in commercial plants totaled 49.2 billion pounds.  On-farm slaughter totaled 95.6 million pounds.

Beef production totaled 25.8 billion pounds, down 1 percent from the previous year.  Veal production totaled 118 million pounds, down 6 percent from last year.  Pork production, at 23.2 billion pounds, was slightly below the previous year.  Lamb and mutton production totaled 161 million pounds, up slightly from 2012.

Commercial cattle slaughter during 2013 totaled 32.5 million head, down 1 percent from 2012, with federal inspection comprising 98.4 percent of the total.  The average live weight was 1,314 pounds, up 12 pounds from a year ago.  Steers comprised 50.1 percent of the total federally inspected cattle slaughter, heifers 28.6 percent, dairy cows 9.8 percent, other cows 9.8 percent, and bulls 1.7 percent.

Commercial calf slaughter totaled 762,000 head, 1 percent lower than a year ago with 98.6 percent under federal inspection.  The average live weight was 250 pounds, down 10 pounds from a year earlier.

Commercial hog slaughter totaled 112.1 million head, 1 percent lower than 2012 with 99.3 percent of the hogs slaughtered under federal inspection.  The average live weight was up 1 pound from last year, at 276 pounds.  Barrows and gilts comprised 97.0 percent of the total federally inspected hog slaughter.

Commercial sheep and lamb slaughter, at 2.32 million head, was up 6 percent from the previous year with 91.4 percent by federal inspection.  The average live weight was down 8 pounds from 2012 at 135 pounds.  Lambs and yearlings comprised 93.7 percent of the total federally inspected sheep slaughter.

There were 831 plants slaughtering under federal inspection on January 1, 2014 compared with 826 last year.  Of these, 638 plants slaughtered at least one head of cattle during 2013 with the 13 largest plants slaughtering 55 percent of the total cattle killed.  Hogs were slaughtered at 606 plants, with the 12 largest plants accounting for 57 percent of the total.  Likewise, 5 of the 209 plants that slaughtered calves accounted for 62 percent of the total and 3 of the 516 plants that slaughtered sheep or lambs in 2013 comprised 57 percent of the total head.

Source: USDA