Livestock Slaughter
ISSN: 0499-0544
Released January 21, 2021, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
Record High Red Meat, Beef, and Pork Production in December
December 2019 contained 22 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays.
December 2020 contained 23 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays.
Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.85 billion
pounds in December, up 3 percent from the 4.73 billion pounds produced in
December 2019.
Beef production, at 2.32 billion pounds, was 3 percent above the previous
year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.78 million head, up 1 percent from December
2019. The average live weight was up 16 pounds from the previous year, at
1,389 pounds.
Veal production totaled 5.6 million pounds, 14 percent below December a year
ago. Calf slaughter totaled 40,600 head, down 19 percent from December 2019.
The average live weight was up 14 pounds from last year, at 242 pounds.
Pork production totaled 2.51 billion pounds, up 3 percent from the previous
year. Hog slaughter totaled 11.5 million head, up 1 percent from December
2019. The average live weight was up 6 pounds from the previous year, at
294 pounds.
Lamb and mutton production, at 12.0 million pounds, was down 1 percent from
December 2019. Sheep slaughter totaled 197,800 head, 1 percent above last
year. The average live weight was 121 pounds, down 2 pounds from December a
year ago.
January to December 2020 commercial red meat production was 55.7 billion
pounds, up 1 percent from 2019. Accumulated beef production was down slightly
from last year, veal was down 14 percent, pork was up 2 percent from last
year, and lamb and mutton production was down 7 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: December 2019 and 2020.......... 7
Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: December 2019 and 2020............ 8
Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: December 2019 and 2020............. 9
Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: December 2019 and 2020.. 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: December 2020................ 12
Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: January to December 2020..... 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]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : :December 2020 as % of : January to December
: December : November : December :----------------------------------------------------
Type : 2019 : 2020 : 2020 : December : November : : :2020 as %
: : : : 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020 : of 2019
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent
:
Beef .............: 2,265.1 2,262.9 2,324.7 103 103 27,154.9 27,152.4 100
Veal .............: 6.5 4.8 5.6 86 116 74.4 64.3 86
Pork .............: 2,443.1 2,405.5 2,510.1 103 104 27,637.4 28,299.7 102
Lamb and mutton ..: 12.1 10.6 12.0 99 113 148.6 138.0 93
:
Total red meat ...: 4,726.8 4,683.8 4,852.5 103 104 55,015.3 55,654.3 101
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States
[Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : :December 2020 as % of : January to December
: December : November : December :----------------------------------------------------
Type : 2019 : 2020 : 2020 : December : November : : :2020 as %
: : : : 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020 : of 2019
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent
:
Beef .............: 2,239.2 2,232.3 2,291.7 102 103 26,821.4 26,738.1 100
Veal .............: 6.4 4.7 5.5 86 116 72.8 62.4 86
Pork .............: 2,432.8 2,395.1 2,499.2 103 104 27,506.6 28,153.7 102
Lamb and mutton ..: 11.0 9.3 10.7 97 114 133.8 122.9 92
:
Total red meat ...: 4,689.4 4,641.5 4,807.1 103 104 54,534.6 55,077.1 101
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States
[Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : December : January to December
: December : November : December : 2020 as % :--------------------------------------------
Species : 2019 : 2020 : 2020 : of 2019 : : : 2020 as %
: : : : : 2019 : 2020 : of 2019
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent percent
:
Cattle :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 2,712.6 2,657.1 2,733.8 101 33,069.4 32,151.3 97
Other ................1,000: 38.5 44.6 48.2 125 485.9 605.9 125
Commercial ...........1,000: 2,751.1 2,701.7 2,782.0 101 33,555.3 32,757.2 98
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 1,376 1,391 1,392 101 1,347 1,376 102
Other ...............pounds: 1,179 1,203 1,200 102 1,193 1,203 101
Commercial ..........pounds: 1,373 1,388 1,389 101 1,344 1,373 102
:
Calves :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 49.1 34.4 40.0 81 578.6 446.8 77
Other ................1,000: 0.8 0.7 0.7 88 8.4 9.6 114
Commercial ...........1,000: 49.9 35.0 40.6 81 587.0 456.4 78
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 226 239 239 106 219 242 111
Other ...............pounds: 361 356 389 108 368 365 99
Commercial ..........pounds: 228 241 242 106 221 245 111
:
Hogs :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 11,336.3 10,961.0 11,419.2 101 129,210.7 130,781.9 101
Other ................1,000: 57.8 53.9 58.1 100 702.3 764.7 109
Commercial ...........1,000: 11,394.1 11,014.8 11,477.3 101 129,913.0 131,546.6 101
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 288 294 294 102 285 289 101
Other ...............pounds: 243 264 257 106 255 262 103
Commercial ..........pounds: 288 294 294 102 285 289 101
:
Sheep and lambs :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 172.9 152.2 168.4 97 2,020.4 1,894.7 94
Other ................1,000: 23.6 28.2 29.4 125 301.3 324.4 108
Commercial ...........1,000: 196.5 180.4 197.8 101 2,321.7 2,219.1 96
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 127 122 126 100 132 129 98
Other ...............pounds: 98 94 95 96 101 96 95
Commercial ..........pounds: 123 118 121 99 128 124 97
:
Goats :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 52.2 45.2 51.1 98 545.5 517.9 95
Other ................1,000: 13.1 8.5 9.3 71 129.7 105.9 82
Commercial ...........1,000: 65.3 53.8 60.4 93 675.2 623.8 92
Average live weight :
Federally inspected .pounds: 65 65 65 101 65 65 99
Other ...............pounds: 81 84 84 105 82 85 103
Commercial ..........pounds: 68 68 68 100 68 68 100
:
Bison :
Number of head :
Federally inspected ..1,000: 4.6 5.0 5.4 118 54.3 62.7 116
Other ................1,000: 0.5 0.2 0.3 66 5.5 4.1 75
Commercial ...........1,000: 5.1 5.3 5.7 113 59.8 66.8 112
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States
[Includes total beef, veal, pork, lamb, and mutton. Totals and percentages based on
unrounded data]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State : December : November : December :December 2020 as
: 2019 : 2020 : 2020 : % of 2019
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ----------- million pounds ---------- percent
:
Alabama ...............: 0.7 1.1 1.1 158
Alaska ................: 0.1 0.1 0.1 128
Arizona ...............: 39.7 37.6 41.9 105
Arkansas ..............: 0.4 0.4 0.5 128
California ............: 143.1 143.5 152.5 107
Colorado ..............: 172.5 173.2 183.1 106
Delaware-Maryland .....: 3.0 2.6 3.0 98
Florida ...............: 3.4 4.0 4.9 146
Georgia ...............: 13.5 13.3 15.0 111
Hawaii ................: 0.8 0.9 1.0 127
:
Idaho .................: 32.4 32.5 34.2 105
Illinois ..............: 302.5 290.7 300.5 99
Indiana ...............: 155.8 163.5 167.3 107
Iowa ..................: 770.4 760.4 775.8 101
Kansas ................: 484.1 508.3 510.0 105
Kentucky ..............: 55.3 51.7 56.1 101
Louisiana .............: 0.3 0.3 0.3 103
Michigan ..............: 99.5 104.3 111.8 112
Minnesota .............: 247.7 248.7 264.1 107
Mississippi ...........: 0.6 0.7 0.7 118
:
Missouri ..............: 165.1 167.0 171.2 104
Montana ...............: 1.2 2.1 1.4 116
Nebraska ..............: 680.4 674.0 678.3 100
Nevada ................: (Y) 0.1 0.1 (X)
New England 1/ ........: 2.2 2.9 3.1 137
New Jersey ............: 3.8 3.4 4.0 107
New Mexico ............: 0.3 0.3 0.4 116
New York ..............: 3.2 3.1 3.6 113
North Carolina ........: 244.0 217.7 238.7 98
North Dakota ..........: 0.5 0.5 0.6 118
:
Ohio ..................: 21.7 23.7 25.3 117
Oklahoma ..............: 106.9 112.6 120.0 112
Oregon ................: 3.8 4.1 4.1 108
Pennsylvania ..........: 132.2 119.6 131.9 100
South Carolina ........: 13.1 15.1 15.3 117
South Dakota ..........: 130.9 128.3 134.3 103
Tennessee .............: 25.7 25.5 27.7 108
Texas .................: 382.7 378.1 383.1 100
Utah ..................: 46.0 45.6 49.4 107
Virginia ..............: 50.5 37.7 42.9 85
:
Washington ............: 82.7 79.8 81.2 98
West Virginia .........: 0.9 1.1 1.1 119
Wisconsin .............: 102.7 103.1 110.4 108
Wyoming ...............: 0.4 0.5 0.6 153
:
United States .........: 4,726.8 4,683.8 4,852.5 103
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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: December 2019 and 2020
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ---- 1,000 head --- --- 1,000 pounds --- ---- pounds ----
:
Alabama ..........: 0.4 1.0 438 1,059 1,009 1,042
Alaska ...........: (Y) 0.1 (X) 91 (X) 1,068
Arizona ..........: 46.8 48.0 64,784 67,760 1,386 1,415
Arkansas .........: 0.4 0.6 418 643 948 1,034
California .......: 137.4 136.4 180,709 180,796 1,324 1,333
Colorado .........: 190.9 199.2 269,100 284,781 1,411 1,431
Delaware-Maryland : 3.1 3.1 4,308 4,343 1,369 1,406
Florida ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Hawaii ...........: 1.1 1.4 1,192 1,592 1,111 1,134
:
Idaho ............: 45.3 46.7 57,391 59,278 1,278 1,280
Illinois .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Indiana ..........: 2.7 3.8 3,124 4,466 1,173 1,176
Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Kansas ...........: 536.4 562.8 749,582 789,751 1,398 1,404
Kentucky .........: 3.7 3.8 3,818 4,247 1,038 1,114
Louisiana ........: 0.4 0.4 324 355 755 793
Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Minnesota ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Mississippi ......: 0.3 0.4 276 390 948 971
:
Missouri .........: 3.6 7.6 4,039 8,994 1,130 1,183
Montana ..........: 1.3 1.4 1,667 1,874 1,321 1,306
Nebraska .........: 607.2 584.0 880,608 862,685 1,452 1,479
Nevada ...........: 0.1 0.1 63 81 1,252 1,138
New England 1/ ...: 2.4 3.3 2,657 3,807 1,124 1,154
New Jersey .......: 3.6 4.3 4,065 4,804 1,118 1,134
New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.5 497 529 932 1,092
New York .........: 3.1 3.7 3,713 4,527 1,193 1,246
North Carolina ...: 6.3 7.4 7,765 9,090 1,235 1,232
North Dakota .....: 0.6 0.7 743 887 1,245 1,286
:
Ohio .............: 5.0 5.8 6,479 7,590 1,306 1,309
Oklahoma .........: 2.6 4.1 2,770 4,430 1,054 1,077
Oregon ...........: 1.3 1.8 1,410 2,054 1,129 1,150
Pennsylvania .....: 93.0 90.3 112,339 111,382 1,213 1,240
South Carolina ...: 19.8 22.2 24,758 29,391 1,256 1,329
South Dakota .....: 41.8 42.1 57,470 60,975 1,382 1,458
Tennessee ........: 2.1 2.9 1,970 2,970 949 1,041
Texas ............: 472.7 467.4 624,546 620,696 1,325 1,332
Utah .............: 55.0 57.2 73,924 79,315 1,345 1,389
Virginia .........: 1.3 1.5 1,387 1,711 1,062 1,105
:
Washington .......: 97.2 95.2 135,753 133,474 1,401 1,406
West Virginia ....: 1.4 1.7 1,370 1,737 953 1,036
Wisconsin ........: 116.4 119.8 159,303 165,902 1,377 1,393
Wyoming ..........: 0.6 0.8 617 930 1,088 1,134
:
United States ....: 2,751.1 2,782.0 3,769,575 3,855,090 1,373 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: December 2019 and 2020
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: -- 1,000 head -- 1,000 pounds --- pounds ---
:
Alabama ..........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Alaska ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Arizona ..........: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
Arkansas .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
California .......: 4.2 4.3 563 596 140 142
Colorado .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Delaware-Maryland : (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Florida ..........: 0.1 0.1 30 50 421 379
Georgia ..........: 0.1 0.1 32 74 458 495
Hawaii ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
Idaho ............: 2.8 1.6 244 139 87 86
Illinois .........: 0.1 0.1 39 23 420 361
Indiana ..........: 0.4 0.6 125 230 326 414
Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Kansas ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Kentucky .........: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
Louisiana ........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Michigan .........: 0.1 0.1 30 40 301 400
Minnesota ........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Mississippi ......: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X)
:
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 0.2 74 67 240 278
New Jersey .......: 2.2 1.7 836 641 380 388
New Mexico .......: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
New York .........: 9.8 7.6 844 658 86 87
North Carolina ...: (Y) 0.1 (X) 35 (X) 314
North Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
Ohio .............: 14.0 12.3 2,050 1,841 148 150
Oklahoma .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Oregon ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Pennsylvania .....: 10.0 8.6 4,224 3,864 424 451
South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Tennessee ........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Texas ............: 0.2 0.2 91 96 432 440
Utah .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Virginia .........: (D) 0.1 (D) 26 (D) 254
:
Washington .......: 1.1 (D) 96 (D) 85 (D)
West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Wisconsin ........: 4.0 2.7 1,849 1,321 467 485
Wyoming ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
United States ....: 49.9 40.6 11,307 9,744 228 242
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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: December 2019 and 2020
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: ---- 1,000 head ---- --- 1,000 pounds --- --- pounds ---
:
Alabama ..........: 1.7 1.9 713 763 409 398
Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.1 30 17 264 276
Arizona ..........: 0.1 0.1 32 20 258 253
Arkansas .........: 0.7 0.5 183 140 263 293
California .......: 219.4 245.5 55,701 66,841 254 273
Colorado .........: 1.3 1.3 303 356 235 270
Delaware-Maryland : 1.7 1.7 436 479 251 280
Florida ..........: 7.0 4.9 809 718 115 148
Georgia ..........: 5.8 6.2 1,434 1,581 247 257
Hawaii ...........: 0.4 0.3 100 80 268 262
:
Idaho ............: 15.1 15.9 4,073 4,552 270 286
Illinois .........: 1,096.8 1,088.2 314,784 319,088 287 293
Indiana ..........: 729.1 786.6 205,265 220,190 282 280
Iowa .............: 3,462.9 3,418.8 994,094 999,995 287 293
Kansas ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Kentucky .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Louisiana ........: 1.0 0.8 143 129 149 161
Michigan .........: 268.2 311.3 80,025 92,548 298 297
Minnesota ........: 1,038.7 1,096.4 289,323 307,790 279 281
Mississippi ......: 3.8 4.0 562 636 147 158
:
Missouri .........: 728.5 734.1 217,935 221,686 299 302
Montana ..........: 0.9 1.0 245 296 287 286
Nebraska .........: 670.6 687.2 190,272 198,005 284 288
Nevada ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
New England 1/ ...: 3.1 3.3 743 886 243 266
New Jersey .......: 11.2 7.5 1,010 776 90 104
New Mexico .......: 0.1 0.2 39 48 272 244
New York .........: 2.2 2.7 488 679 219 250
North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
North Dakota .....: 0.3 0.3 86 91 330 330
:
Ohio .............: 79.3 94.1 22,592 26,606 285 283
Oklahoma .........: 491.1 505.6 139,752 153,209 285 303
Oregon ...........: 13.2 12.0 3,556 3,403 270 284
Pennsylvania .....: 302.8 296.5 86,501 85,580 286 289
South Carolina ...: 4.7 4.3 1,022 880 220 207
South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Tennessee ........: 81.4 90.2 37,077 39,255 456 436
Texas ............: 32.3 28.4 6,399 6,927 198 244
Utah .............: 5.5 3.4 600 610 109 181
Virginia .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
:
Washington .......: 1.2 2.1 323 538 264 254
West Virginia ....: 0.6 0.6 188 191 296 316
Wisconsin ........: 60.0 73.7 25,685 31,426 429 427
Wyoming ..........: 0.2 0.2 50 62 296 303
:
United States ....: 11,394.1 11,477.3 3,279,660 3,370,188 288 294
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: December 2019 and 2020
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight
State :--------------------------------------------------------------------
: 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 head -- -- 1,000 pounds -- --- pounds ---
:
Alabama ..........: (Y) 1.4 (X) 94 (X) 68
Alaska ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Arizona ..........: 0.1 0.1 14 15 96 115
Arkansas .........: 0.1 (Y) 6 (X) 119 (X)
California .......: 24.9 28.4 3,569 3,986 144 141
Colorado .........: 60.2 48.9 9,082 7,631 151 156
Delaware-Maryland : 3.0 1.3 283 144 95 114
Florida ..........: 1.6 2.3 94 134 57 60
Georgia ..........: 2.7 1.6 174 123 65 77
Hawaii ...........: 0.1 0.1 9 13 123 111
:
Idaho ............: 0.2 0.1 20 15 123 145
Illinois .........: 4.2 5.1 326 383 77 75
Indiana ..........: 5.8 7.0 627 779 109 111
Iowa .............: 0.1 0.2 20 28 151 152
Kansas ...........: 0.4 0.4 37 38 94 104
Kentucky .........: 1.5 1.5 181 161 119 110
Louisiana ........: 0.4 0.4 22 24 52 61
Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Minnesota ........: 0.5 0.5 50 50 93 93
Mississippi ......: 0.6 0.4 38 27 62 62
:
Missouri .........: 0.9 0.8 78 72 87 88
Montana ..........: 0.4 0.4 47 52 130 127
Nebraska .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
Nevada ...........: (Y) 0.1 (X) 7 (X) 149
New England 1/ ...: 3.5 4.7 320 433 92 92
New Jersey .......: 15.4 17.2 1,189 1,362 77 79
New Mexico .......: 0.4 0.5 57 69 137 142
New York .........: 6.7 6.0 648 584 97 97
North Carolina ...: 2.5 3.3 163 223 66 68
North Dakota .....: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X)
:
Ohio .............: 5.2 4.7 812 749 156 159
Oklahoma .........: 1.0 1.1 87 104 86 94
Oregon ...........: 4.4 5.0 598 681 135 138
Pennsylvania .....: 8.5 10.1 824 1,030 97 102
South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
South Dakota .....: 0.4 0.3 59 39 149 147
Tennessee ........: 1.5 (D) 95 (D) 64 (D)
Texas ............: 13.4 17.6 1,109 1,474 83 84
Utah .............: 2.0 1.8 271 235 133 133
Virginia .........: 0.7 1.6 54 112 73 69
:
Washington .......: 1.4 1.6 186 217 131 139
West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D)
Wisconsin ........: 1.3 5.2 177 762 138 148
Wyoming ..........: 0.1 0.1 11 16 137 136
:
United States ....: 196.5 197.8 24,173 24,025 123 121
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 to December : : : : January to December
Class : December : November : December :-----------------------: December : November : December :-----------------------
: 2019 : 2020 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --------------------- 1,000 head --------------------- ----------------- percent of total ----------------
:
Cattle :
Steers ...........: 1,291.0 1,292.4 1,323.0 16,297.8 15,856.2 47.6 48.6 48.4 49.3 49.3
Heifers ..........: 832.2 798.2 808.2 9,818.9 9,445.3 30.7 30.0 29.6 29.7 29.4
All cows .........: 548.8 525.6 561.7 6,414.0 6,331.4 20.2 19.8 20.5 19.4 19.7
Dairy cows .......: 265.4 229.4 273.5 3,224.2 3,063.5 9.8 8.6 10.0 9.7 9.5
Other cows .......: 283.5 296.2 288.2 3,189.8 3,267.9 10.4 11.1 10.5 9.6 10.2
Bulls ............: 40.5 40.9 40.9 538.7 518.3 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6
:
Total ............: 2,712.6 2,657.1 2,733.8 33,069.4 32,151.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Calves and :
vealers ...... : 49.1 34.4 40.0 578.6 446.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Hogs :
Barrows and :
gilts ..........: 11,053.8 10,687.2 11,109.2 125,844.3 127,149.2 97.5 97.5 97.3 97.4 97.2
Sows .............: 255.6 250.9 283.7 3,012.0 3,321.1 2.3 2.3 2.5 2.3 2.5
Boars ............: 26.9 22.8 26.4 354.3 311.6 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2
:
Total ............: 11,336.3 10,961.0 11,419.2 129,210.7 130,781.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
:
Sheep :
Mature :
sheep ..........: 10.3 8.7 10.7 114.8 113.0 5.9 5.7 6.3 5.7 6.0
Lambs and :
yearlings ......: 162.6 143.5 157.8 1,905.6 1,781.7 94.1 94.3 93.7 94.3 94.0
:
Total ............: 172.9 152.2 168.4 2,020.4 1,894.7 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States
[Data may not add to totals due to rounding]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: : : : January to December
Class : December : November : December :-----------------------
: 2019 : 2020 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: pounds
:
Cattle ............... : 827 842 840 813 834
Steers 1/ ...............: 905 924 920 878 908
Heifers 1/ ..............: 836 848 847 813 835
All cows 1/ .............: 629 628 639 639 641
Bulls 1/ ................: 851 865 859 878 879
:
Calves and vealers ... : 131 139 139 127 141
:
Hogs ................. : 215 219 219 213 215
Barrows and gilts 2/ ....: 213 217 217 211 213
Sows 2/ .................: 301 300 297 304 303
Boars 2/ ................: 194 193 195 196 193
:
Sheep ................ : 63 61 63 66 65
Mature sheep 3/ .........: 64 63 64 65 65
Lambs and yearlings 3/ ..: 63 61 63 66 65
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: December 2020
[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 ............: 3.0 1.3 (D) 0.4 0.2 0.3 (D) 0.2
2 ............: 7.8 2.5 1.6 3.4 3.2 0.1 0.4 9.2
3 ............: 93.5 33.7 2.6 53.2 45.9 7.3 4.0 8.7
4 ............: 68.5 3.9 1.7 53.8 15.4 38.4 9.1 0.3
5 ............: 286.0 127.1 (D) 117.6 68.4 49.1 (D) 15.6
6 ............: 466.5 217.3 148.4 92.9 26.9 66.1 7.9 0.1
7 ............:1,184.8 653.0 459.5 65.9 10.6 55.3 6.5 (Y)
8 ............: 295.9 158.4 102.3 33.8 7.5 26.3 1.5 (Y)
9 ............: 185.3 78.3 22.5 82.5 67.2 15.3 2.0 4.1
10 ...........: 142.6 47.5 34.2 58.4 28.3 30.1 2.5 1.6
:
United States :2,733.8 1,323.0 808.2 561.7 273.5 288.2 40.9 40.0
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hogs : Sheep
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and
: :and gilts: Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 head
:
1 ............: 2.9 2.9 (Y) (Y) 4.5 0.3 4.2
2 ............: 10.1 10.0 (Y) (Y) 22.6 2.5 20.1
3 ............: 477.5 476.2 (D) (D) 13.6 1.1 12.5
4 ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) 10.5 1.4 9.1
5 ............: 3,427.9 3,295.2 127.9 4.9 30.0 2.4 27.7
6 ............: 529.0 528.9 0.1 (Y) 3.7 0.5 3.1
7 ............: 4,853.7 4,769.4 68.0 16.4 1.0 (Y) 1.0
8 ............: (D) (D) 0.3 (Y) 50.4 1.4 49.0
9 ............: 240.6 240.6 (Y) (Y) 26.5 0.7 25.8
10 ...........: 29.5 29.5 (Y) (Y) 5.6 0.3 5.3
:
United States :11,419.2 11,109.2 283.7 26.4 168.4 10.7 157.8
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 - Regions and United States: January to December 2020
[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 ............: 33.6 14.6 (D) 6.2 2.9 3.3 (D) 2.8
2 ............: 87.3 26.8 18.4 37.8 35.4 2.4 4.4 101.9
3 ............: 1,024.7 352.9 36.0 593.7 487.9 105.8 42.0 94.9
4 ............: 793.9 55.4 18.4 616.1 174.8 441.2 104.1 3.3
5 ............: 3,268.1 1,550.4 (D) 1,212.8 732.5 480.3 (D) 152.3
6 ............: 5,624.3 2,639.4 1,777.4 1,113.9 334.5 779.4 93.7 1.1
7 ............:14,087.3 7,913.8 5,362.9 717.2 94.2 623.0 93.4 0.5
8 ............: 3,457.6 1,848.1 1,181.9 410.9 95.4 315.5 16.6 (Y)
9 ............: 2,165.5 921.1 251.9 963.9 761.1 202.8 28.6 52.7
10 ...........: 1,608.8 533.7 381.6 658.9 344.7 314.2 34.7 37.3
:
United States :32,151.3 15,856.2 9,445.3 6,331.4 3,063.5 3,267.9 518.3 446.8
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hogs : Sheep
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and
: :and gilts : Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings
:----------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000 head
:
1 ............: 31.9 31.5 0.4 0.1 43.9 3.1 40.8
2 ............: 97.5 97.0 0.4 0.1 227.1 24.3 202.8
3 ............: 5,608.0 5,595.0 (D) (D) 153.0 14.4 138.6
4 ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) 128.0 13.7 114.3
5 ............: 38,542.1 36,949.0 1,536.0 57.1 313.9 24.4 289.5
6 ............: 6,127.2 6,125.2 1.7 0.2 57.8 3.9 53.9
7 ............: 57,090.4 56,126.8 778.5 185.1 13.8 0.2 13.6
8 ............: (D) (D) 7.5 0.3 612.6 17.4 595.2
9 ............: 2,662.8 2,662.4 0.4 0.1 288.2 8.7 279.5
10 ...........: 347.4 346.9 0.4 0.1 56.4 3.0 53.4
:
United States :130,781.9 127,149.2 3,321.1 311.6 1,894.7 113.0 1,781.7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(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 December
Species : December : November : December :------------------------
: 2019 : 2020 : 2020 : 2019 : 2020
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent
:
Cattle .......: 98.6 98.3 98.3 98.6 98.2
Calves .......: 98.5 98.1 98.4 98.6 97.9
Hogs .........: 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.4
Sheep ........: 88.0 84.3 85.2 87.0 85.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 800 livestock slaughter plants in the United States
operating under Federal Inspection and about 1,900 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
Holly Brenize - Sheep and Goats .............. (202) 720-0585
Ryan Cowen - Cattle, Cattle on Feed .......... (202) 720-3040
Mike Miller - Milk Production and Milk Cows .. (202) 720-3278
Suzanne Richards - Dairy Products ............ (202) 720-4448
Seth Riggins - Hogs and Pigs ................. (202) 720-3106
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
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https://usda.library.cornell.edu. To continue receiving the reports via
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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.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against
its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the basis of race,
color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion,
reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial
or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's
income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic
information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded
by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs
and/or employment activities.)
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination,
complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (PDF), found online
at www.ascr.usda.gov/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer,
or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may
also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form.
Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue,
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at
program.intake@usda.gov.Livestock Slaughter