June 29, 2009
US red meat production down 7 percent in May
Total red meat production for the US in May was down 7 percent from a year ago, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in its latest livestock slaughter report.
According to USDA, May commercial red meat production totalled 3,919 million pounds, down 7 percent from May of last year and down 4 percent from April 2009. January to May commercial red meat production was about 20,140 million pounds, down 4 percent from the same period last year.
Beef production was 2,180 million pounds in May, down 8 percent from May 2008 but up 2 percent from April 2009.
Cattle slaughter totaled 2.85 million head, which was down 9 percent from the previous year. The average live weight of cattle at slaughter was 1,264 pounds in May, up 13 pounds from the previous year.
Dairy cow slaughter in May was 212,000 head, down 3,000 from April but up 17,000, or 9 percent, from May 2008.
Dairy cows made up 7.5 percent of total cattle slaughter in May, compared with 7.9 percent in April and 6.3 percent in May of last year.
Dairy cow slaughter for the January to May period totalled 1,189,000 head, up 110,000 head, or 10 percent, from the same period of 2008.
The five-month 2009 dairy number was 8.9 percent of total cattle slaughter for the period compared with 7.6 percent for the same period last year.
Pork production in May was 1,716 million pounds, down 5 percent from the previous year and down 11 percent from the previous month.
Commercial hog slaughter totalled 8.45 million head, down 7 percent from May 2008. The average live weight of slaughter hogs in May was 271 pounds, up 3 pounds from May 2008.
