October 27, 2009
US red meat production down two percent in Jan-Sep
US commercial red meat production from January to September 2009 totalled 36.8 billion pounds, down two percent from 2008.
Accumulated beef production was down three percent from last year, veal was down four percent, pork was down one percent from last year and lamb and mutton production was down three percent.
In September, commercial red meat production for the US totalled 4.26 billion pounds, down slightly from the 4.27 billion pounds produced in September one year earlier, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Pork production totalled two billion pounds, up one percent from the previous year. Hog kill totalled 9.94 million head, down slightly from September 2008. The average live weight was up four pounds from the previous year to 270 pounds.
Beef production in September totalled 2.23 billion pounds, down two percent from the previous year. Cattle slaughter decreased three percent on-year to 2.81 million head, while the average live weight increased 14 pounds on-year to 1,311 pounds.
Veal production totalled 11.7 million pounds in September, down eight percent on-year. Calf slaughter totalled 81,200 head, down seven percent from September 2008. The average live weight decreased seven pounds from last year to 244 pounds.
