Mt An 1-2 (1-09) Livestock Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 23, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Livestock Slaughter" call Sherry Bertramsen at (515) 284-4340, office hours 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT. Total Red Meat and Pork Production at Record Highs for December Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.16 billion pounds in December, up 3 percent from the 4.06 billion pounds produced in December 2007. Beef production, at 2.08 billion pounds, was 1 percent above the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.67 million head, up 1 percent from December 2007. The average live weight was up 1 pound from the previous year, at 1,303 pounds. Veal production totaled 13.3 million pounds, 28 percent above December a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 94,100 head, up 54 percent from December 2007. The average live weight was down 43 pounds from last year, at 245 pounds. Pork production totaled 2.05 billion pounds, up 4 percent from the previous year. Hog kill totaled 10.14 million head, up 5 percent from December 2007. The average live weight was down 2 pounds from the previous year, at 270 pounds. Lamb and mutton production, at 15.4 million pounds, was up slightly from December 2007. Sheep slaughter totaled 230,800 head, 1 percent above last year. The average live weight was 134 pounds, down 1 pound from December a year ago. January to December 2008 commercial red meat production was 50.2 billion pounds, up 3 percent from 2007. Accumulated beef production was up 1 percent from last year, veal was up 4 percent, pork was up 6 percent from last year, and lamb and mutton production was down 5 percent. December 2007 contained 21 weekdays (including one holiday) and 5 Saturdays. December 2008 contained 23 weekdays (including one holiday) and 4 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/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Dec 08 % of : Jan - Dec 2/ : Dec : Nov : Dec :-------------------------------------- Type : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 : Dec : Nov : : :08 as % : : : : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 : of 07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- Million Pounds --- Percent Million Pounds Percent : Beef :2,061.4 1,960.9 2,082.0 101 106 26,420.826,564.5 101 Veal : 10.4 11.3 13.3 128 117 137.2 143.3 104 Pork :1,972.7 1,886.5 2,052.0 104 109 21,942.623,348.0 106 Lamb & Mutton : 15.4 12.9 15.4 100 120 183.1 174.0 95 : Total Red Meat 3/:4,059.9*3,871.7 4,162.7 103 108 48,683.850,229.7 103 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Dec 08 % of : Jan - Dec 2/ : Dec : Nov : Dec :-------------------------------------- Type : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 : Dec : Nov : : :08 as % : : : : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 : of 07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- Million Pounds --- Percent Million Pounds Percent : Beef :2,032.7 1,933.1 2,051.3 101 106 26,070.026,200.2 100 Veal : 10.2 10.9 13.0 128 119 134.3 139.8 104 Pork :1,957.4 1,873.7 2,036.8 104 109 21,768.023,170.1 106 Lamb & Mutton : 14.5 12.2 14.5 100 119 174.7 165.7 95 : Total Red Meat 3/:4,014.8 3,830.0 4,115.6 103 107 48,146.949,675.8 103 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : :Dec 08 % of: Jan - Dec 2/ : : Dec : Nov : Dec :------------------------------------ Species : Unit : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 : Dec : Nov : : : 08 % : : : : :2007 :2008 : 2007 : 2008 :of 07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Percent Prcnt : : Cattle No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou :2,602.5 2,475.0 2,623.0 101 106 33,720.7 33,805.3 100 Other : Thou : 45.4 44.0 48.2 106 110 543.3 564.2 104 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou :2,647.9 2,519.0 2,671.3 101 106 34,264.0 34,369.5 100 Live Wt/Hd : : Fed. Insp. : Lbs :1,305 1,305 1,306 100 100 1,275 1,284 101 Other : Lbs :1,132 1,122 1,139 101 101 1,139 1,143 100 Comm'l. : Lbs :1,302 1,302 1,303 100 100 1,273 1,282 101 : : Calves No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou : 59.9 79.7 92.8 155 116 744.8 942.0 126 Other : Thou : 1.1 1.7 1.3 116 80 13.3 15.3 115 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou : 61.0 81.4 94.1 154 116 758.1 957.3 126 Live Wt/Hd : : Fed. Insp. : Lbs : 287 *237 243 85 103 304 255 84 Other : Lbs : 386 424 416 108 98 399 411 103 Comm'l. : Lbs : 288 240 245 85 102 305 257 84 : : Hogs No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou :9,600.6 9,249.5 10,053.4 105 109 108,138.2115,420.2 107 Other : Thou : 89.3 75.5 91.2 102 121 1,033.4 1,037.4 100 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou :9,689.9 9,325.0 10,144.6 105 109 109,171.6116,457.5 107 Live Wt/Hd : : Fed. Insp. : Lbs : 272 271 271 99 100 269 268 100 Other : Lbs : 236 237 232 98 98 234 238 102 Comm'l. : Lbs : 272 271 270 99 100 269 268 100 : : Sheep&Lambs No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou : 212.2 179.9 212.5 100 118 2,528.6 2,393.4 95 Other : Thou : 16.8 13.8 18.3 109 133 165.1 162.0 98 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou : 229.0 193.7 230.8 101 119 2,693.7 2,555.4 95 Live Wt/Hd : : Fed. Insp. : Lbs : 137 136 137 100 101 138 138 100 Other : Lbs : 104 103 100 96 97 104 104 100 Comm'l. : Lbs : 135 133 134 99 100 136 136 100 : : Goats No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou : 61.9 53.5 70.9 115 133 639.4 670.7 105 Other : Thou : 17.2 19.4 23.5 136 121 187.9 202.4 108 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou : 79.1 73.0 94.5 119 129 827.3 873.1 106 Live Wt/Hd : : Fed. Insp. : Lbs : 62 62 62 100 99 61 62 100 Other : Lbs : 61 74 72 119 97 56 66 118 Comm'l. : Lbs : 62 65 64 104 99 60 63 104 : : Bison No. : : Fed. Insp. : Thou : 3.6 4.0 4.5 124 112 50.1 54.8 109 Other : Thou : 1.5 1.2 1.4 89 119 16.9 15.5 92 Comm'l. 3/ : Thou : 5.2 5.2 5.8 113 113 67.0 70.3 105 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Dec 08 as % of 2/ State : Dec : Nov : Dec :----------------------- : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 : Dec 2007 : Nov 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------- Million Pounds ---------- --- Percent --- : AL : 2.0 1.6 1.7 86 106 AK : 0.1 AZ : 31.5 29.6 33.7 107 114 AR : 5.7 3.9 5.7 101 149 CA : 142.9 129.4 149.6 105 116 CO : 147.8 149.8 164.3 111 110 DE-MD : 2.9 3.0 3.4 117 112 FL : 7.2 7.6 7.7 107 101 GA : 12.5 12.2 11.2 89 92 HI : 0.8 0.8 0.9 113 114 ID : 17.8 18.4 19.4 109 105 IL : 254.1 241.1 256.5 101 106 IN : 142.4 138.7 146.1 103 105 IA : 591.8 555.5 599.3 101 108 KS : 456.3 377.0 421.0 92 112 KY : 50.8 49.1 54.5 107 111 LA : 0.5 0.6 0.6 104 91 MI : 40.0 42.1 45.1 113 107 MN : 208.0 210.5 222.1 107 106 MS : 1.2 1.1 1.5 126 134 MO : 139.1 135.6 147.2 106 109 MT : 1.6 1.4 1.4 89 106 NE : 581.5 575.1 592.1 102 103 NV : 0.1 0.1 0.1 135 106 N ENG 3/ : 1.0 1.3 1.4 137 105 NJ : 4.1 3.7 4.6 111 124 NM : 0.3 *0.6 0.5 157 89 NY : 2.7 2.9 3.5 129 119 NC : 204.1 207.5 221.8 109 107 ND : 2.3 2.1 2.2 95 105 OH : 25.2 23.4 26.4 105 113 OK : 91.4 92.5 98.2 107 106 OR : 4.6 4.6 4.8 105 105 PA : 108.3 110.1 116.7 108 106 SC : 21.1 19.0 20.5 97 108 SD : 95.6 81.5 87.6 92 108 TN : 20.0 19.3 21.1 105 110 TX : 372.0 361.3 399.3 107 111 UT : 38.0 38.4 42.3 112 110 VA : 45.7 40.6 46.4 102 114 WA : 67.6 63.2 65.3 97 103 WV : 0.7 0.8 0.9 127 117 WI : 116.1 114.3 113.3 98 99 WY : 0.5 0.4 0.6 125 147 : US : 4,059.9 *3,871.7 4,162.7 103 108 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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, December 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 : 0.3 0.5 247 412 945 863 AK : 0.1 60 1,147 AZ : 39.4 46.9 55,377 61,712 1,410 1,321 AR : 0.9 1.0 884 1,039 1,016 994 CA : 128.4 137.1 165,404 176,505 1,312 1,306 CO : 171.8 187.4 227,506 252,316 1,325 1,348 DE-MD : 3.1 3.7 4,078 4,783 1,312 1,278 FL : GA : 22.1 20,890 946 HI : 0.8 0.9 823 1,040 1,006 1,100 ID : 23.7 25.8 29,214 32,292 1,249 1,270 IL : IN : 3.2 4.1 3,396 4,366 1,053 1,056 IA : KS : 553.1 501.0 719,679 653,600 1,301 1,305 KY : 1.7 2.0 1,606 1,868 929 939 LA : 0.5 0.6 396 415 770 741 MI : 45.7 52.8 62,729 72,444 1,383 1,383 MN : 64.7 66.3 88,492 91,012 1,378 1,380 MS : 0.1 39 774 MO : 7.9 7.9 9,450 9,295 1,202 1,186 MT : 2.0 1.8 2,343 2,074 1,163 1,137 NE : 547.8 544.8 737,099 736,356 1,348 1,353 NV : 0.1 0.1 100 143 1,078 1,179 N ENG 2/ : 1.1 1.5 1,135 1,532 1,029 1,031 NJ : 2.4 3.1 2,899 3,533 1,202 1,136 NM : 0.4 0.5 377 536 1,046 1,039 NY : 2.0 2.8 2,366 3,302 1,179 1,184 NC : 16.6 16.1 19,046 18,460 1,152 1,150 ND : 1.1 1.1 1,286 1,342 1,174 1,178 OH : 9.2 8.8 10,876 10,458 1,193 1,195 OK : 1.9 2.3 2,099 2,499 1,080 1,068 OR : 2.8 3.1 3,173 3,648 1,183 1,228 PA : 73.4 77.1 92,421 97,003 1,270 1,273 SC : 12.2 12.1 12,892 13,227 1,065 1,097 SD : TN : 2.1 2.8 1,799 2,408 864 871 TX : 476.8 512.3 595,414 642,589 1,252 1,258 UT : 46.7 52.0 60,676 67,498 1,303 1,303 VA : 1.2 0.8 1,246 821 1,002 987 WA : 84.8 82.8 110,447 107,163 1,307 1,299 WV : 1.1 1.4 1,177 1,479 1,036 1,048 WI : 142.5 140.3 190,207 184,441 1,348 1,330 WY : 0.6 0.8 699 911 1,161 1,147 : US 3/ : 2,647.9 2,671.3 3,434,170 3,467,891 1,302 1,303 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, December 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 22.6 1,359 2,594 129 117 CO : DE-MD : 0.2 0.2 45 48 272 267 FL : 0.1 19 318 GA : 0.1 0.1 27 46 418 445 HI : ID : IL : 3.2 7.8 1,325 1,867 418 243 IN : IA : 0.1 28 328 KS : KY : 0.1 26 515 LA : 0.2 0.4 93 207 503 524 MI : 1.6 1.3 641 531 406 423 MN : MS : MO : 0.1 0.1 26 37 368 409 MT : NE : NV : N ENG 2/ : 0.2 0.3 38 74 229 245 NJ : 5.5 6.0 2,276 2,535 413 421 NM : 1.7 147 93 NY : 14.0 20.4 1,488 2,102 111 107 NC : 0.2 0.2 81 82 522 535 ND : OH : 0.1 5.2 24 2,445 350 473 OK : OR : PA : 13.4 14.4 5,379 5,089 401 353 SC : SD : TN : 0.1 0.1 28 37 420 479 TX : 0.9 3.5 499 874 545 251 UT : VA : 0.1 30 357 WA : WV : WI : WY : : US 3/ : 61.0 94.1 17,371 22,708 288 245 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, December 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 : 7.6 6.0 3,335 2,644 436 438 AK : 0.1 0.1 12 26 245 207 AZ : 0.2 0.1 29 30 129 271 AR : 17.6 17.3 7,968 7,859 454 454 CA : 251.8 262.1 61,517 62,824 245 240 CO : 0.5 0.7 123 171 249 258 DE-MD : 1.6 1.8 420 477 262 262 FL : 6.8 6.0 1,014 967 150 161 GA : 12.6 6.8 2,828 1,821 224 266 HI : 2.0 1.8 443 404 220 222 ID : 12.4 13.6 3,188 3,429 258 254 IL : 926.0 936.4 258,524 258,603 279 276 IN : 693.2 707.9 184,842 189,822 267 268 IA : 2,684.4 2,791.3 731,234 751,628 273 269 KS : 10.3 4,514 441 KY : 243.3 65,817 271 LA : 2.0 1.8 318 258 158 141 MI : 10.9 10.6 4,172 3,809 386 361 MN : 813.4 878.8 214,632 231,484 264 264 MS : 7.2 2,142 300 MO : 632.1 687.6 177,286 188,093 281 274 MT : 1.3 1.3 330 322 251 251 NE : 650.7 693.0 176,184 187,209 271 270 NV : N ENG 2/ : 1.6 2.1 319 420 198 199 NJ : 11.5 11.0 986 944 86 86 NM : 0.1 0.1 19 25 248 248 NY : 2.6 2.5 425 391 163 156 NC : 972.9 1,076.1 257,756 283,056 265 263 ND : 9.2 8.3 2,379 2,121 257 256 OH : 95.0 96.2 26,492 26,255 280 274 OK : 427.6 465.1 119,311 127,511 279 274 OR : 15.1 14.7 3,806 3,686 254 252 PA : 273.7 295.8 69,429 75,923 254 257 SC : SD : 441.8 403.3 114,252 105,200 259 261 TN : 59.9 62.9 28,093 29,298 470 467 TX : 41.6 44.3 11,271 11,414 271 258 UT : 5.6 5.9 968 1,079 173 185 VA : 226.3 227.0 59,629 60,664 264 267 WA : 2.4 2.1 460 467 192 219 WV : 0.7 0.7 175 192 263 266 WI : 39.3 45.5 17,131 19,741 445 442 WY : 0.3 0.3 77 70 260 255 : US 3/ : 9,689.9 10,144.6 2,632,754 2,739,463 272 270 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, December 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 7 83 AR : CA : CO : 82.5 82.2 12,574 13,003 153 158 DE-MD : 3.0 4.0 307 385 101 97 FL : 0.1 0.3 6 19 78 57 GA : 0.5 0.3 55 22 100 79 HI : ID : 0.3 0.3 34 33 127 129 IL : IN : 2.9 3.1 311 343 106 112 IA : 32.9 32.8 4,981 4,836 151 148 KS : 0.2 0.3 20 38 105 115 KY : 1.0 1.3 125 155 124 123 LA : 0.3 0.4 17 22 68 62 MI : 17.2 15.8 2,227 2,011 130 128 MN : 0.3 1.0 37 114 121 119 MS : MO : 0.4 0.6 55 72 123 117 MT : 0.4 0.4 43 44 107 115 NE : 0.1 9 99 NV : 0.1 8 121 N ENG 2/ : 2.1 3.5 189 306 92 87 NJ : 12.3 13.4 1,053 1,130 85 84 NM : 1.0 1.1 147 151 147 137 NY : 5.0 5.5 417 434 83 79 NC : 1.0 1.1 74 87 75 78 ND : 0.1 6 118 OH : 1.2 0.9 122 96 105 104 OK : 0.1 0.1 7 7 102 82 OR : 2.1 2.1 283 291 134 136 PA : 4.5 5.0 435 489 97 97 SC : SD : 0.9 0.2 118 28 130 130 TN : 1.4 1.6 107 116 74 71 TX : 2.9 4.4 269 332 93 75 UT : 2.7 3.2 364 440 135 136 VA : 1.6 2.0 151 182 96 93 WA : 0.9 1.0 148 128 170 134 WV : 0.5 78 146 WI : 1.0 1.3 133 176 136 134 WY : 0.1 0.1 18 19 137 146 : US 3/ : 229.0 230.8 30,860 30,861 135 134 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - Dec 1/ : : : :Jan - Dec 1/ Item : Dec : Nov : Dec :-------------: Dec : Nov : Dec :------------ : 2007 :2008 :2008 : 2007 : 2008 :2007 :2008 :2008 : 2007 :2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---------- 1,000 Head ---------- ------ Percent of Total ------ : Class 2/ : Cattle : Steers :1,279 1,137 1,272 17,285 16,949 49.2 45.9 48.5 51.3 50.1 Heifers : 799 778 796 10,207 10,091 30.7 31.4 30.4 30.3 29.8 All Cows : 483 514 517 5,675 6,161 18.6 20.8 19.7 16.8 18.2 Dairy Cows : 205 208 229 2,497 2,591 7.9 8.4 8.7 7.4 7.7 Other Cows : 278 306 288 3,178 3,569 10.7 12.4 11.0 9.4 10.6 Bulls : 41 46 38 554 605 1.6 1.9 1.5 1.6 1.8 : Total 1/ :2,602 2,475 2,623 33,721 33,805 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Calves & Vealers: 60 80 93 745 942 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Hogs : Barrow & Gilts :9,301 8,970 9,749104,352111,460 96.9 97.0 97.0 96.5 96.6 Sows : 264 247 271 3,309 3,502 2.8 2.7 2.7 3.1 3.0 Boars : 36 32 33 477 458 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 : Total 1/ :9,601 *9,25010,053108,138115,420 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Sheep : Mature Sheep : 11 9 11 116 122 5.2 4.8 5.2 4.6 5.1 Lambs & Yrlngs : 201 171 201 2,413 2,271 94.8 95.2 94.8 95.4 94.9 : Total 1/ : 212 180 213 2,529 2,393 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Average Dressed : Weight : : ----------- Pounds ----------- : Cattle : 784 784 785 776 778 Steers 3/ : 844 856 852 830 838 Heifers 3/ : 784 794 789 764 772 All Cows 3/ : 613 598 606 617 609 Bulls 3/ : 871 872 869 893 888 : Calves & Vealers: 172 139 142 182 150 : Hogs : 204 203 203 202 201 Barrow Gilts4/ : 201 200 200 198 198 Sows 4/ : 304 308 305 308 308 Boars 4/ : 214 205 201 213 209 : Sheep : 69 68 68 69 69 Mature Sheep5/ : 67 65 66 67 67 Lamb & Yrlngs5/: 69 68 69 69 69 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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, December 2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Cattle :Calves Standard:---------------------------------------------------------------------- Federal : : : : Cows : : Regions :Total 2/ : Steers :Heifers :--------------------------: Bulls : Total : : : : All : Dairy : Other : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head : 1 : 1.1 0.5 0.3 0.3 2 : 5.7 2.2 0.4 2.7 2.3 0.3 0.5 26.4 3 : 80.2 31.9 8.4 38.8 30.9 7.9 1.1 14.7 4 : 63.9 1.6 0.5 54.0 12.7 41.3 7.8 0.4 5 : 329.5 135.5 45.5 141.5 72.9 68.7 6.9 22.6 6 : 511.8 261.6 153.1 87.7 18.5 69.2 9.4 5.1 7 : 1,085.4 571.9 450.2 57.8 1.3 56.5 5.5 0.1 8 : 250.7 134.8 97.8 9 : 184.3 86.1 11.4 84.2 70.3 14.0 2.5 22.3 10 : 110.3 45.6 28.8 33.0 14.1 18.9 2.9 : US 2/ : 2,623.0 1,271.5 796.4 517.0 228.9 288.1 38.2 92.8 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- :Total 2/ : Barrows : : :Total 2/ : Mature : Lambs & : : & Gilts : Sows : Boars : : Sheep :Yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head : 1 : 1.7 1.6 3.2 0.2 3.0 2 : 13.2 13.0 0.1 0.1 16.8 1.7 15.1 3 : 523.7 513.5 2.1 8.2 11.3 0.7 10.7 4 : 1,473.8 1,389.4 83.1 1.2 4.7 1.1 3.6 5 : 2,642.5 2,534.9 104.3 3.4 32.0 3.6 28.4 6 : 517.7 490.8 25.7 1.1 7 : 4,183.0 4,108.9 55.8 18.4 33.6 0.3 33.3 8 : 414.8 414.4 0.3 84.8 1.8 83.0 9 : 253.4 253.3 10 : 29.6 29.5 2.2 0.2 2.0 : US 2/ :10,053.4 9,749.3 271.5 32.5 212.5 11.1 201.4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - December 2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Cattle :Calves Standard:---------------------------------------------------------------------- Federal : : : : Cows : : Regions :Total 2/ : Steers :Heifers :--------------------------: Bulls : Total : : : : All : Dairy : Other : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head : 1 : 11.8 5.2 2.3 2.5 2 : 58.7 20.8 3.6 29.8 24.7 5.1 4.6 286.9 3 : 1,028.9 415.7 92.5 496.1 394.0 102.1 24.6 163.8 4 : 863.7 15.7 5.5 725.1 136.7 588.3 117.5 4.2 5 : 4,102.7 1,776.8 524.3 1,686.0 861.3 824.6 115.6 233.8 6 : 6,725.0 3,509.9 2,072.0 1,009.4 176.7 832.6 133.7 37.9 7 :14,226.9 7,893.6 5,497.0 740.8 17.8 723.0 95.4 0.8 8 : 3,310.6 1,720.1 1,361.0 9 : 2,112.2 1,046.7 139.0 891.3 745.6 145.7 35.3 199.5 10 : 1,364.6 544.4 393.8 375.7 163.4 212.4 50.7 : US 2/ :33,805.3 16,948.9 10,090.8 6,160.8 2,591.3 3,569.5 604.7 942.0 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total 2/ : Barrows : : :Total 2/ : Mature : Lambs & : : & Gilts : Sows : Boars : : Sheep :Yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head : 1 : 15.5 14.9 26.8 1.6 25.1 2 : 133.0 129.8 1.8 1.4 167.4 16.4 151.0 3 : 5,511.7 5,340.9 28.6 142.2 110.9 6.7 104.3 4 : 16,721.0 15,805.9 895.8 19.3 42.4 12.4 30.0 5 : 30,559.6 29,044.8 1,472.8 42.1 357.3 38.2 319.0 6 : 5,819.2 5,514.5 293.7 11.0 7 : 48,751.1 47,710.4 799.0 241.7 359.8 5.1 354.7 8 : 4,911.1 4,903.5 7.4 0.1 983.5 18.9 964.6 9 : 2,650.6 2,649.3 10 : 347.4 346.2 1.1 0.1 27.6 1.7 25.9 : US 2/ :115,420.2 111,460.2 3,501.7 458.2 2,393.4 122.3 2,271.1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - Dec Species : Dec : Nov : Dec :------------------------ : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Cattle : 98.3 98.3 98.2 98.4 98.4 Calves : 98.1 97.9 98.6 98.2 98.4 Hogs : 99.1 99.2 99.1 99.1 99.1 Sheep : 92.7 92.9 92.1 93.9 93.7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Jim Collom - Dairy Products.............................(202) 690-3236 Joe Gaynor - Dairy Products Prices......................(202) 690-2168 Jason Hardegree - Cattle, Cattle on Feed................(202) 720-3040 Sherry Bertramsen - Livestock Slaughter.................(515) 284-4340 Mike Miller - Milk Production and Milk Cows.............(202) 720-3278 Everett Olbert - Sheep and Goats........................(202) 720-4751 Nicholas Streff - Hogs and Pigs.........................(202) 720-3106 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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