More meat than ever — red meat production sets all time record
Cathy
By Janie Gabbett on 3/7/2008 for Meatingplace.com
Total red meat production for the United States totaled 48.8 billion
pounds in 2007, up 2 percent from a year ago and setting an all-time
record, USDA reported Friday.
Beef production totaled 26.5 billion pounds, up 1 percent from the
previous year.
Pork production, at 22.0 billion pounds, was 4 percent above a year ago.
Veal production, however, was down 6 percent and lamb and mutton fell by
1 percent.
Cattle
Commercial cattle slaughter during 2007 totaled 34.3 million head, up 2
percent from 2006, of which 98.4 percent were in federally inspected
plants. The average live weight was 1,269 pounds, down 2 pounds from a
year ago. Steers comprised 51.3 percent of the total federally inspected
cattle slaughter, heifers 30.3 percent, dairy cows 7.4 percent, other
cows 9.4 percent, and bulls 1.6 percent.
Commercial calf slaughter totaled 758,100 head, 7 percent higher than a
year ago with 98.2 percent under federal inspection. The average live
weight was 303 pounds, down 39 pounds from a year earlier.
Hogs
Commercial hog slaughter totaled 109.2 million head, 4 percent higher
than 2006 with 99.1 percent of the hogs slaughtered under federal
inspection. The average live weight was unchanged from last year, at 269
pounds. Barrows and gilts comprised 96.5 percent of the total federally
inspected hog slaughter.
More slaughter plants
USDA said there were 808 plants slaughtering under federal inspection on
January 1, 2008 compared with 795 last year.
Of these, 626 plants slaughtered at least one head of cattle during 2007
with the 14 largest plants slaughtering 54 percent of the total cattle
killed.
Hogs were slaughtered at 618 plants, with the 11 largest plants
accounting for 51 percent of the total.