Mt An 1-2 (4-08) Livestock Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released April 25, 2008, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Livestock Slaughter" call Benita Hodge at (515) 284-4340, office hours 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT. Lamb and Mutton Production at Record Low for March Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.09 billion pounds in March, up 2 percent from the 4.01 billion pounds produced in March 2007. Beef production, at 2.10 billion pounds, was 1 percent below the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.73 million head, down 2 percent from March 2007. The average live weight was up 16 pounds from the previous year, at 1,276 pounds. Veal production totaled 11.2 million pounds, 17 percent below March a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 70,800 head, up slightly from March 2007. The average live weight was down 48 pounds from last year, at 273 pounds. Pork production totaled 1.96 billion pounds, up 5 percent from the previous year. Hog kill totaled 9.66 million head, up 5 percent from March 2007. The average live weight was up 1 pound from the previous year, at 271 pounds. Lamb and mutton production, at 16.0 million pounds, was down 18 percent from March 2007. Sheep slaughter totaled 230,900 head, 17 percent below last year. The average live weight was 139 pounds, down 1 pound from March a year ago. January to March 2008 commercial red meat production was 12.5 billion pounds, up 6 percent from 2007. Accumulated beef production was up 2 percent from last year, veal was down 16 percent, pork was up 12 percent from last year, and lamb and mutton production was down 7 percent. March 2007 contained 22 weekdays (including no holidays) and 5 Saturdays. March 2008 contained 21 weekdays (including no holidays) and 5 Saturdays. Contents Page Red Meat Production, Commercial and FI, by Type, U.S. ......................1 Livestock Slaughter, Number and Average Weights, by Species and Type of Slaughter, U.S. .............................2 Commercial Red Meat Production, by State and U.S. ..........................3 Commercial Cattle Slaughter, Number, Total and Average Live Weight, by State and U.S. .....................................4 Commercial Calf Slaughter, Number, Total and Average Live Weight, by State and U.S. .....................................5 Commercial Hog Slaughter, Number, Total and Average Live Weight, by State and U.S. .....................................6 Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter, Number, Total and Average Live Weight, by State and U.S. .........................7 Federally Inspected Classification of Number and Average Dressed Weight, by Species and Class and U.S. ..............8 Federally Inspected Slaughter by Species and Class, by Region and U.S. ....................................................9 Federally Inspected Percent of Total Commercial, by Species, U.S. .....................................................11 Reliability Statement......................................................18 Types of Plants............................................................19 Terms and Definitions......................................................20 Information Contacts.......................................................20 Commercial Red Meat Production: United States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Mar 08 % of : Jan - Mar 2/ : Mar : Feb : Mar :-------------------------------------- Type : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 : Mar : Feb : : :08 as % : : : : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 : of 07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- Million Pounds --- Percent Million Pounds Percent : Beef :2,118.2*2,038.9 2,102.7 99 103 6,236.8 6,373.6 102 Veal : 13.5 11.0 11.2 83 102 39.9 33.5 84 Pork :1,861.0 1,902.6 1,962.9 105 103 5,395.8 6,023.4 112 Lamb & Mutton : 19.6 15.0 16.0 82 107 49.1 45.8 93 : Total Red Meat 3/:4,012.4 3,967.6 4,092.9 102 103 11,721.612,476.4 106 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Based on packers' dressed weights and excludes farm slaughter. 2/ Accumulated totals and percentages based on unrounded data. 3/ Totals may not equal sum of the parts due to rounding. Federally Inspected Red Meat Production: United States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Mar 08 % of : Jan - Mar 2/ : Mar : Feb : Mar :-------------------------------------- Type : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 : Mar : Feb : : :08 as % : : : : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 : of 07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- Million Pounds --- Percent Million Pounds Percent : Beef :2,088.5*2,009.6 2,073.8 99 103 6,144.4 6,282.8 102 Veal : 13.3 10.8 11.0 83 102 39.2 32.8 84 Pork :1,846.5 1,888.3 1,948.2 106 103 5,354.0 5,980.0 112 Lamb & Mutton : 19.0 14.5 15.4 81 106 47.4 44.1 93 : Total Red Meat 3/:3,967.3*3,923.2 4,048.4 102 103 11,585.012,339.6 107 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Based on packers' dressed weights and excludes farm slaughter. 2/ Accumulated totals and percentages based on unrounded data. 3/ Totals may not equal sum of the parts due to rounding. Livestock Slaughter: Number and Average Weights, United States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : :Mar 08 % of: Jan - Mar 2/ : : Mar : Feb : Mar :------------------------------------ Species : Unit : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 : Mar : Feb : : : 08 % : : : : :2007 :2008 : 2007 : 2008 :of 07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Percent Prcnt : : Cattle No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou :2,747.4 *2,597.9 2,686.5 98 103 8,013.0 8,131.9 101 Other : Thou : 45.6 45.2 44.4 97 98 141.4 140.6 99 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou :2,793.0 2,643.2 2,730.9 98 103 8,154.4 8,272.5 101 Live Wt/Hd : : Fed. Insp. : Lbs :1,261 1,287 1,278 101 99 1,276 1,287 101 Other : Lbs :1,149 1,148 1,154 100 100 1,153 1,147 99 Comm'l. : Lbs :1,260 1,285 1,276 101 99 1,274 1,284 101 : : Calves No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou : 69.6 67.9 69.7 100 103 208.5 208.0 100 Other : Thou : 1.1 1.2 1.1 99 95 3.3 3.4 101 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou : 70.7 69.1 70.8 100 103 211.8 211.3 100 Live Wt/Hd : : Fed. Insp. : Lbs : 319 270 271 85 100 317 269 85 Other : Lbs : 418 389 401 96 103 403 402 100 Comm'l. : Lbs : 321 272 273 85 100 318 271 85 : : Hogs No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou :9,118.9 9,297.4 9,579.4 105 103 26,440.1 29,350.8 111 Other : Thou : 82.7 80.7 82.2 99 102 243.9 246.0 101 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou :9,201.7 9,378.1 9,661.6 105 103 26,684.0 29,596.8 111 Live Wt/Hd : : Fed. Insp. : Lbs : 271 271 271 100 100 271 272 100 Other : Lbs : 241 245 247 102 101 237 244 103 Comm'l. : Lbs : 270 271 271 100 100 270 272 100 : : Sheep&Lambs No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou : 267.2 *201.6 219.4 82 109 665.7 622.6 94 Other : Thou : 12.4 9.9 11.6 94 117 33.4 33.3 100 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou : 279.5 *211.5 230.9 83 109 699.0 655.8 94 Live Wt/Hd : : Fed. Insp. : Lbs : 142 144 141 99 98 142 142 100 Other : Lbs : 104 108 110 106 102 103 106 103 Comm'l. : Lbs : 140 143 139 99 98 140 140 100 : : Goats No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou : 51.0 44.9 59.0 116 131 137.6 153.0 111 Other : Thou : 15.3 15.1 15.5 101 103 41.4 43.0 104 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou : 66.4 60.0 74.5 112 124 179.0 195.9 109 Live Wt/Hd : : Fed. Insp. : Lbs : 60 61 62 103 100 62 62 100 Other : Lbs : 51 67 69 135 103 57 63 110 Comm'l. : Lbs : 58 63 63 109 101 61 62 102 : : Bison No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou : 4.3 4.9 4.9 112 99 11.8 14.5 123 Other : Thou : 1.7 1.5 1.3 77 84 5.2 4.6 89 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou : 6.0 6.4 6.1 102 96 17.0 19.1 113 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Excludes slaughter on farms. 2/ Accumulated totals and percentages based on unrounded data. 3/ Totals may not equal sum of the parts due to rounding. Commercial Red Meat Production: By State and United States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Mar 08 as % of 2/ State : Mar : Feb : Mar :----------------------- : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 : Mar 2007 : Feb 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------- Million Pounds ---------- --- Percent --- : AL : 2.7 2.0 2.2 80 112 AK : AZ : 33.7 35.4 33.1 98 94 AR : 4.5 5.2 5.5 121 106 CA : 142.2 134.4 133.0 94 99 CO : 148.1 *171.2 168.3 114 98 DE-MD : 3.5 3.0 2.8 80 94 FL : 7.0 6.7 7.6 110 114 GA : 12.6 12.5 13.0 103 104 HI : 0.8 0.8 0.9 103 107 ID : 15.5 18.2 19.2 124 105 IL : 245.2 245.0 251.3 102 103 IN : 133.2 134.9 136.3 102 101 IA : 552.3 571.6 607.1 110 106 KS : 504.4 406.9 429.3 85 106 KY : 47.7 45.0 49.5 104 110 LA : 0.9 0.6 0.7 82 109 MI : 40.8 41.5 44.9 110 108 MN : 210.2 203.2 208.7 99 103 MS : 19.2 1.3 1.1 6 86 MO : 116.1 141.5 149.6 129 106 MT : 1.3 1.3 1.2 91 91 NE : 550.3 568.0 582.6 106 103 NV : 0.1 0.1 0.1 148 95 N ENG 3/ : 0.9 0.9 0.9 98 99 NJ : 5.0 3.9 4.2 84 108 NM : 0.5 0.4 0.5 92 106 NY : 2.8 2.5 2.9 104 117 NC : 190.5 212.8 202.7 106 95 ND : 2.6 2.3 2.3 88 99 OH : 25.0 24.6 24.0 96 97 OK : 96.4 89.8 93.4 97 104 OR : 4.5 4.4 4.9 109 110 PA : 110.4 102.0 105.2 95 103 SC : 21.5 21.9 20.7 96 94 SD : 84.4 84.1 89.6 106 107 TN : 18.3 16.8 17.5 95 104 TX : 383.3 *383.2 408.2 107 107 UT : 39.4 43.5 42.0 107 97 VA : 38.8 44.4 46.1 119 104 WA : 76.0 66.0 62.7 83 95 WV : 0.5 0.5 0.4 91 91 WI : 119.2 113.0 116.5 98 103 WY : 0.5 0.5 0.4 89 82 : US : 4,012.4 3,967.6 4,092.9 102 103 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Includes total beef, veal, pork, lamb, and mutton. 2/ Percentages based on unrounded data. 3/ N ENG includes CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT. Commercial Cattle Slaughter: By State and United States, March 2007 and 2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number Slaughtered : Total Live Weight : Average Live Weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 Head --- --- 1,000 Pounds --- ---- Pounds ---- : AL : 0.6 0.5 583 499 944 934 AK : AZ : 41.9 41.7 58,019 58,998 1,387 1,420 AR : 0.9 0.9 883 968 988 1,063 CA : 134.4 125.6 176,910 160,007 1,340 1,296 CO : 169.3 199.4 219,165 255,894 1,295 1,284 DE-MD : 3.9 3.1 5,170 3,958 1,337 1,297 FL : GA : 23.3 21,297 921 HI : 0.9 0.9 984 1,037 1,062 1,096 ID : 17.1 24.2 24,349 30,727 1,448 1,286 IL : IN : 2.8 3.1 2,946 3,231 1,051 1,056 IA : KS : 648.1 530.1 786,508 662,510 1,214 1,250 KY : 1.6 1.7 1,505 1,541 946 929 LA : 0.7 0.6 640 489 876 802 MI : 47.0 51.9 64,476 70,750 1,381 1,371 MN : 65.4 67.3 91,860 94,928 1,416 1,421 MS : 0.1 0.1 101 80 875 915 MO : 7.8 7.6 9,510 9,258 1,225 1,218 MT : 1.5 1.4 1,848 1,663 1,205 1,187 NE : 532.8 550.7 689,844 729,353 1,297 1,326 NV : 0.1 0.1 88 134 1,102 1,155 N ENG 2/ : 0.9 0.9 1,003 969 1,124 1,134 NJ : 2.4 2.5 2,990 3,072 1,238 1,238 NM : 0.9 0.5 786 512 963 1,085 NY : 2.2 2.3 2,472 2,778 1,171 1,235 NC : 17.5 16.4 20,423 19,059 1,174 1,168 ND : 1.1 1.2 1,224 1,384 1,137 1,203 OH : 9.6 8.5 11,298 9,962 1,192 1,192 OK : 2.0 2.4 2,302 2,750 1,138 1,148 OR : 2.4 3.0 2,804 3,577 1,207 1,241 PA : 77.2 77.0 96,280 97,569 1,256 1,278 SC : 13.6 12.9 15,846 14,592 1,173 1,142 SD : TN : 2.0 2.3 1,696 1,943 887 864 TX : 516.8 535.2 612,666 649,482 1,189 1,217 UT : 48.8 52.1 63,390 67,082 1,301 1,289 VA : 1.1 0.9 1,098 828 1,042 963 WA : 93.8 79.9 123,365 102,156 1,320 1,285 WV : 0.6 0.6 644 635 1,094 1,099 WI : 142.5 138.2 190,526 184,448 1,351 1,351 WY : 0.5 0.5 647 575 1,209 1,233 : US 3/ : 2,793.0 2,730.9 3,505,279 3,473,012 1,260 1,276 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes slaughter under Federal inspection and other Commercial slaughter, excludes farm slaughter. 2/ N ENG includes CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT. 3/ States with no data printed are still included in the US total, data not printed to avoid disclosing individual operations. Accumulated totals and percentages based on unrounded data. Commercial Calf Slaughter: By State and United States, March 2007 and 2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number Slaughtered : Total Live Weight : Average Live Weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -- 1,000 Head -- -- 1,000 Pounds -- --- Pounds --- : AL : AK : AZ : AR : CA : 10.6 15.5 1,404 1,871 133 122 CO : DE-MD : 0.1 0.2 41 43 274 273 FL : 0.1 21 390 GA : 0.1 0.1 40 37 422 457 HI : ID : IL : 3.6 2.5 1,546 1,034 429 420 IN : IA : KS : KY : 0.1 40 544 LA : 0.4 0.3 184 143 489 511 MI : 2.2 2.1 943 816 425 389 MN : MS : MO : 0.1 34 425 MT : NE : NV : N ENG 2/ : 0.1 0.2 39 67 274 327 NJ : 9.1 6.1 4,042 2,535 446 419 NM : 0.7 1.3 59 126 79 94 NY : 12.5 16.1 1,739 1,766 143 114 NC : 0.1 0.1 52 52 496 498 ND : OH : 0.1 0.1 26 32 350 354 OK : OR : PA : 16.7 13.4 6,443 5,329 386 399 SC : SD : TN : 0.1 0.1 43 32 422 457 TX : 1.0 2.1 656 1,181 632 571 UT : VA : 0.1 21 304 WA : WV : WI : WY : : US 3/ : 70.7 70.8 22,560 19,075 321 273 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes slaughter under Federal inspection and other Commercial slaughter, excludes farm slaughter. 2/ N ENG includes CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT. 3/ States with no data printed are still included in the US total, data not printed to avoid disclosing individual operations. Accumulated totals and percentages based on unrounded data. Commercial Hog Slaughter: By State and United States, March 2007 and 2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number Slaughtered : Total Live Weight : Average Live Weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 Head --- --- 1,000 Pounds --- --- Pounds --- : AL : 9.3 7.9 4,124 3,438 444 439 AK : 0.1 16 264 AZ : 0.2 0.2 44 40 207 216 AR : 13.4 16.4 6,073 7,474 453 456 CA : 218.9 207.0 53,614 51,079 245 247 CO : 0.9 0.7 229 173 260 258 DE-MD : 1.2 1.3 314 346 263 267 FL : 7.1 6.8 1,076 1,041 152 154 GA : 11.0 10.7 2,378 2,413 217 226 HI : 1.7 1.5 377 346 224 231 ID : 14.6 12.9 3,723 3,370 256 261 IL : 866.4 904.5 242,235 253,139 280 280 IN : 658.1 667.0 173,426 176,839 264 265 IA : 2,485.8 2,765.0 675,342 746,390 272 270 KS : 18.5 8,515 462 KY : 234.3 61,991 265 LA : 2.0 1.7 447 392 222 232 MI : 9.3 10.1 3,503 3,927 379 391 MN : 807.4 803.2 212,982 209,855 264 262 MS : 5.4 1,530 284 MO : 525.3 692.2 146,276 190,982 279 276 MT : 1.0 0.9 265 232 266 249 NE : 639.0 669.4 172,384 179,949 270 269 NV : N ENG 2/ : 1.0 1.1 213 229 209 208 NJ : 8.5 8.4 871 779 103 93 NM : 0.1 0.1 12 23 221 258 NY : 2.0 2.0 376 368 190 188 NC : 931.0 967.0 239,316 254,872 257 264 ND : 11.2 8.6 2,801 2,187 250 253 OH : 95.8 91.5 25,826 25,344 270 278 OK : 455.9 434.4 125,248 120,886 275 278 OR : 16.6 15.0 3,927 3,891 237 261 PA : 263.3 235.5 66,551 60,645 253 258 SC : SD : 391.4 416.5 101,732 106,712 260 256 TN : 54.0 51.3 25,611 24,273 475 475 TX : 33.2 35.0 7,955 8,951 240 256 UT : 4.1 4.4 795 924 193 210 VA : 194.1 225.3 50,516 59,803 261 266 WA : 1.8 2.2 397 421 218 192 WV : 0.6 0.5 167 142 304 263 WI : 45.9 49.3 20,466 21,918 454 452 WY : 0.4 0.3 99 87 261 266 : US 3/ : 9,201.7 9,661.6 2,485,278 2,616,784 270 271 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes slaughter under Federal inspection and other Commercial slaughter, excludes farm slaughter. 2/ N ENG includes CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT. 3/ States with no data printed are still included in the US total, data not printed to avoid disclosing individual operations. Accumulated totals and percentages based on unrounded data. Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter: By State and United States, March 2007 and 2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number Slaughtered : Total Live Weight : Average Live Weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --- 1,000 Head -- -- 1,000 Pounds -- --- Pounds --- : AL : AK : AZ : 0.1 13 110 AR : CA : CO : 122.4 89.7 18,804 14,238 154 159 DE-MD : 2.8 3.0 292 299 104 98 FL : 0.2 0.2 12 13 56 63 GA : 0.4 0.3 45 28 127 92 HI : ID : 0.3 0.3 34 32 125 129 IL : IN : 2.2 2.3 234 249 106 107 IA : 44.8 33.9 6,922 5,274 155 156 KS : 0.2 0.2 20 23 123 97 KY : 0.8 0.8 104 108 133 127 LA : 0.4 0.3 41 30 99 87 MI : 16.7 15.6 2,244 2,061 135 133 MN : 0.2 1.3 27 179 117 134 MS : MO : 0.5 0.4 60 53 126 126 MT : 0.3 0.3 28 28 111 102 NE : 0.1 8 152 NV : 0.1 0.1 9 10 137 135 N ENG 2/ : 2.5 2.4 246 213 98 87 NJ : 10.1 12.8 747 979 74 77 NM : 1.2 1.3 156 189 132 144 NY : 4.3 3.9 305 266 71 69 NC : 0.4 0.5 31 42 84 84 ND : 0.1 13 132 OH : 1.0 1.0 110 102 107 104 OK : 0.1 0.1 8 14 126 103 OR : 2.4 2.1 334 294 142 141 PA : 5.5 5.7 496 486 91 85 SC : SD : 0.9 0.2 114 24 132 123 TN : 0.9 1.1 69 85 80 79 TX : 2.4 2.6 202 292 85 113 UT : 3.0 2.8 423 391 143 140 VA : 0.9 1.0 90 100 101 99 WA : 0.4 0.6 60 88 148 159 WV : WI : 0.7 0.7 97 94 137 132 WY : 0.1 0.1 20 16 144 159 : US 3/ : 279.5 230.9 39,139 32,122 140 139 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes slaughter under Federal inspection and other Commercial slaughter, excludes farm slaughter. 2/ N ENG includes CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT. 3/ States with no data printed are still included in the US total, data not printed to avoid disclosing individual operations. Accumulated totals and percentages based on unrounded data. Classification of Livestock Slaughtered Under Federal Inspection: United States -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :Jan - Mar 1/ : : : :Jan - Mar 1/ Item : Mar : Feb : Mar :-------------: Mar : Feb : Mar :------------ : 2007 :2008 :2008 : 2007 : 2008 :2007 :2008 :2008 : 2007 :2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---------- 1,000 Head ---------- ------ Percent of Total ------ : Class 2/ : Cattle : Steers :1,393 1,274 1,328 4,014 3,992 50.7 49.0 49.4 50.1 49.1 Heifers : 820 818 839 2,442 2,524 29.9 31.5 31.2 30.5 31.0 All Cows : 488 465 473 1,435 1,483 17.8 17.9 17.6 17.9 18.2 Dairy Cows : 230 214 215 660 665 8.4 8.2 8.0 8.2 8.2 Other Cows : 258 251 258 775 818 9.4 9.7 9.6 9.7 10.1 Bulls : 46 40 47 122 132 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.5 1.6 : Total 1/ :2,747 2,598 2,686 8,013 8,132 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Calves & Vealers: 70 68 70 208 208 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Hogs : Barrow & Gilts :8,790 8,992 9,242 25,502 28,361 96.4 96.7 96.5 96.5 96.6 Sows : 284 270 299 818 873 3.1 2.9 3.1 3.1 3.0 Boars : 45 35 39 121 117 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4 : Total 1/ :9,119 9,297 9,579 26,440 29,351 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Sheep : Mature Sheep : 9 *9 10 26 27 3.4 4.3 4.5 3.9 4.4 Lambs & Yrlngs : 258 193 210 640 595 96.6 95.7 95.5 96.1 95.6 : Total 1/ : 267 *202 219 666 623 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Average Dressed : Weight : : ----------- Pounds ----------- : Cattle : 763 776 775 770 775 Steers 3/ : 808 827 828 819 829 Heifers 3/ : 752 773 766 761 770 All Cows 3/ : 635 631 627 632 627 Bulls 3/ : 920 885 896 912 886 : Calves & Vealers: 192 160 160 190 160 : Hogs : 203 203 204 203 204 Barrow Gilts4/ : 199 200 200 199 201 Sows 4/ : 308 308 308 308 307 Boars 4/ : 215 *213 220 212 215 : Sheep : 71 72 70 71 71 Mature Sheep5/ : 68 67 68 66 67 Lamb & Yrlngs5/: 71 72 70 71 71 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Total and percentages based on unrounded data. 2/ Species totals and classification reported by food inspectors, Inspection Operations, FSIS. 3/ Included in cattle average dressed weight. 4/ Included in hog average dressed weight. 5/ Included in sheep average dressed weight. Federally Inspected Slaughter: By Region and United States, March 2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Cattle :Calves Standard:---------------------------------------------------------------------- Federal : : : : Cows : : Regions :Total 2/ : Steers :Heifers :--------------------------: Bulls : Total : : : : All : Dairy : Other : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head : 1 : 0.7 0.3 0.2 0.2 2 : 4.6 1.6 0.3 2.3 2.0 0.3 0.4 22.2 3 : 78.7 31.7 6.9 38.3 30.5 7.8 1.8 13.6 4 : 66.3 1.2 0.5 55.7 11.7 44.1 8.8 0.3 5 : 328.1 139.6 41.9 137.7 72.1 65.6 8.8 13.6 6 : 534.6 283.9 171.1 68.6 14.3 54.3 10.9 3.2 7 : 1,136.0 626.4 442.6 59.2 1.2 58.0 7.8 0.1 8 : 263.9 118.5 127.5 9 : 167.8 84.2 12.6 68.5 63.6 4.9 2.5 15.3 10 : 105.8 40.2 35.4 26.7 13.8 12.8 3.6 : US 2/ : 2,686.5 1,327.7 839.0 473.0 215.1 257.9 46.8 69.7 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- :Total 2/ : Barrows : : :Total 2/ : Mature : Lambs & : : & Gilts : Sows : Boars : : Sheep :Yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head : 1 : 0.9 0.8 2.3 0.1 2.2 2 : 10.2 10.0 0.1 0.1 16.0 1.2 14.7 3 : 460.5 445.0 3.0 12.5 9.6 0.3 9.3 4 : 1,338.5 1,265.9 70.7 1.9 2.9 1.0 2.0 5 : 2,494.5 2,358.0 133.1 3.4 32.4 3.3 29.2 6 : 476.1 450.3 24.3 1.4 7 : 4,139.6 4,053.6 66.7 19.4 34.4 0.4 33.9 8 : 427.2 426.7 0.5 92.1 1.7 90.4 9 : 202.9 202.7 10 : 29.1 29.0 0.1 2.0 0.1 2.0 : US 2/ : 9,579.4 9,242.0 298.7 38.7 219.4 9.8 209.5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ States included in regions are as follows: 1- CT, ME, NH, VT, MA, & RI; 2- NY & NJ; 3- DE-MD, PA, WV, & VA; 4- AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, & TN; 5- IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, & WI; 6- AR, LA, NM, OK, & TX; 7- IA, KS, MO, & NE; 8- CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, & WY; 9- AZ, CA, HI & NV; 10- AK, ID, OR, & WA. 2/ Regions with no data printed are still included in the US and Region total, data not printed to avoid disclosing individual operations. Totals may not add due to rounding. Federally Inspected Slaughter: By Region and United States, January - March 2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Cattle :Calves Standard:---------------------------------------------------------------------- Federal : : : : Cows : : Regions :Total 2/ : Steers :Heifers :--------------------------: Bulls : Total : : : : All : Dairy : Other : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head : 1 : 2.5 1.1 0.5 0.7 2 : 13.7 5.0 0.9 6.7 5.8 0.9 1.0 65.8 3 : 241.2 98.0 24.4 113.5 90.2 23.3 5.3 42.0 4 : 206.4 4.1 1.4 174.6 37.7 136.8 26.4 0.9 5 : 977.5 411.0 124.6 419.3 217.5 201.8 22.6 42.4 6 : 1,558.2 815.0 486.8 223.2 45.6 177.6 33.2 6.8 7 : 3,463.7 1,880.1 1,370.9 191.2 4.5 186.7 21.5 0.2 8 : 808.8 387.1 364.6 9 : 527.4 262.8 36.0 221.3 204.4 16.9 7.3 45.5 10 : 332.5 128.2 114.4 80.8 40.7 40.0 9.2 : US 2/ : 8,131.9 3,992.4 2,524.5 1,482.8 665.0 817.7 132.3 208.0 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total 2/ : Barrows : : :Total 2/ : Mature : Lambs & : : & Gilts : Sows : Boars : : Sheep :Yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head : 1 : 2.8 2.7 5.5 0.3 5.2 2 : 32.0 31.2 0.4 0.3 36.7 3.2 33.5 3 : 1,402.1 1,357.6 7.4 37.1 23.7 0.7 23.0 4 : 4,174.1 3,948.2 220.1 5.9 8.3 2.6 5.7 5 : 7,760.1 7,373.8 375.6 10.7 91.3 9.2 82.1 6 : 1,441.0 1,363.7 73.1 4.2 7 : 12,485.3 12,232.9 194.1 58.4 99.5 0.9 98.6 8 : 1,328.2 1,326.7 1.5 271.7 4.9 266.8 9 : 635.4 635.1 10 : 89.8 89.4 0.3 6.1 0.4 5.7 : US 2/ : 29,350.8 28,361.3 872.8 116.7 622.6 27.4 595.1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ States included in regions are as follows: 1- CT, ME, NH, VT, MA, & RI; 2- NY & NJ; 3- DE-MD, PA, WV, & VA; 4- AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, & TN; 5- IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, & WI; 6- AR, LA, NM, OK, & TX; 7- IA, KS, MO, & NE; 8- CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, & WY; 9- AZ, CA, HI & NV; 10- AK, ID, OR, & WA. 2/ Regions with no data printed are still included in the US and Region total, data not printed to avoid disclosing individual operations. Totals may not add due to rounding. Federally Inspected Slaughter: Percent of Total Commercial Slaughter by Species, United States -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Jan - Mar Species : Mar : Feb : Mar :------------------------ : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Cattle : 98.4 98.3 98.4 98.3 98.3 Calves : 98.4 98.3 98.4 98.4 98.4 Hogs : 99.1 99.1 99.1 99.1 99.2 Sheep : 95.6 95.3 95.0 95.2 94.9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reliability of Livestock Slaughter Estimates Data Sources: Primary data for the commercial livestock slaughter estimates 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. More than 95 percent of the total U.S. slaughter for any species is under Federal Inspection. There are nearly 800 livestock slaughter plants in the U.S. operating under Federal Inspection and over 2,000 Non-Federally Inspected (State-inspected or custom-exempt) slaughter plants. Slaughter from State-inspected Talmedge- Aiken plants is included in FI totals (see Types of Plants, page 20). 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 March 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 March. Procedures and Reliability: The livestock slaughter data is obtained electronically on a daily basis and summarized approximately two weeks after the week of slaughter. An edit 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 edit 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. 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 U.S. 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 and 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 errors such as omissions, duplications and mistakes in reporting, recording and processing the data. These errors are minimized through rigid quality controls in the edit 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, these data are still included in US and region totals. A review of the data is made annually to determine the publishable data. Types of Livestock Slaughter Plants There are generally four types of slaughtering plants. (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) 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. (4) 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. Terms and Definitions Used for Livestock Slaughter Estimates Average Live Wight: Excludes post-mortem condemnations Commercial Production: Includes slaughter and meat production in federally inspected and other plants, but excludes animals slaughtered on farms. 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. 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. 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. Total Live Weight: Excludes post-mortem condemnations. Wholesome Meat Act: Legislation that specifies that all meat produced for sale in the U.S. must be inspected. Meat that is transported interstate must be inspected in compliance with Federal (USDA) Standards. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch................................(202) 720-3570 Scott Hollis, Head, Livestock Section................................(202) 690-2424 Bruce Boess - Hogs and Pigs..................................(202) 720-3106 Jim Collom - Dairy Products..................................(202) 690-3236 Joe Gaynor - Dairy Products Prices...........................(202) 690-2168 Jason Hardegree - Milk Production and Milk Cows..............(202) 720-3278 Benita Hodge - Livestock Slaughter...........................(515) 284-4340 Scott Hollis - Sheep and Goats...............................(202) 690-2424 Mike Miller - Cattle, Cattle on Feed.........................(202) 720-3040 ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov. 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