News

December red meat production up on year

Domestic red meat production during December was up on the year.

The USDA says production was 4.546 billion pounds, 2% more than December 2022, due to heavier weights for cattle and a faster slaughter pace for hogs. Beef production was 2% higher at 2.19 billion pounds, while pork climbed 5% to 2.388 billion pounds.

Cow and heifer slaughter levels were below both the previous month and year, while all categories of hogs slaughtered were above a year ago. The USDA says the dairy cow slaughter for December 2023 was 224,700 head, a decline of 5,000 from November and 41,600 from December 2022. The unofficial annual dairy cow slaughter was 3.076 million head, up 29,000 on the year.

The USDA’s unofficial 2023 total for red meat production was 54.441 billion pounds, 2% less than 2022, with a 5% decline in beef canceling out a 1% rise in pork.

The final word on last year’s red meat production is out in April.