News

USDA: April red meat production all-time monthly high

The USDA says red meat production during April 2021 was at record monthly levels.

All red meat totaled 4.708 billion pounds, up 22% from April 2020, when production was severely limited by COVID-19 outbreaks in some processing facilities.

Beef production was 2.346 billion pounds, an increase of 29% on the year, with a 27% rise in the slaughter to 2.850 million head and 13 pound gain in the average live weight at 1,366 pounds per animal.

April pork production was 2.344 billion pounds, a jump of 15% on the year, with the slaughter also 15% higher at 10.823 million head and the average live weight one pound heavier at 290 pounds.

For the year to date, domestic red meat production is 18.944 billion pounds, 4% ahead of the record 2020 pace.

The USDA says April’s dairy cow slaughter was 257,500 head, a decrease of 44,700 from March and 21,900 from April 2020. The year-to-date dairy cow slaughter is 1.102 million head, a little bit slower than the 2020 pace.

The USDA’s cold storage numbers for April are out Monday, May 24^th at 3 Eastern/Central.