Livestock Slaughter ISSN: 0499-0544 Released March 19, 2026, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Commercial Red Meat Production Down 2 Percent from Last Year February 2025 contained 20 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays. February 2026 contained 20 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays. Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.14 billion pounds in February, down 2 percent from the 4.23 billion pounds produced in February 2025. Beef production, at 1.93 billion pounds, was 4 percent below the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.17 million head, down 7 percent from February 2025. The average live weight was up 34 pounds from the previous year, at 1,466 pounds. Veal production totaled 1.6 million pounds, 20 percent below February a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 8,200 head, down 27 percent from February 2025. The average live weight was up 28 pounds from last year, at 342 pounds. Pork production totaled 2.20 billion pounds, down slightly from the previous year. Hog slaughter totaled 10.1 million head, down 1 percent from February 2025. The average live weight was up 1 pound from the previous year, at 292 pounds. Lamb and mutton production, at 10.8 million pounds, was up 3 percent from February 2025. Sheep slaughter totaled 176,400 head, 4 percent above last year. The average live weight was 121 pounds, down 2 pounds from February a year ago. January to February 2026 commercial red meat production was 8.72 billion pounds, down 4 percent from 2025. Accumulated beef production was down 8 percent from last year, veal was down 27 percent, pork was down 1 percent from last year, and lamb and mutton production was down 1 percent. This page intentionally left blank. Contents Commercial Red Meat Production - United States.......................................... 4 Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States................................. 4 Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States............................. 5 Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States............................... 6 Commercial Cattle Slaughter - States and United States: February 2025 and 2026.......... 7 Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: February 2025 and 2026............ 8 Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: February 2025 and 2026............. 9 Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: February 2025 and 2026.. 10 Livestock Slaughtered Under Federal Inspection by Class - United States................. 11 Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States........... 11 Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: February 2026................ 12 Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: January to February 2026..... 13 Federally Inspected Slaughter Percent of Total Commercial Slaughter - United States..... 13 Terms and Definitions Used for Livestock Slaughter Estimates............................ 14 Statistical Methodology................................................................. 15 Information Contacts.................................................................... 16 Commercial Red Meat Production - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :February 2026 as % of : January to February : February : January : February :---------------------------------------------------- Type : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : February : January : : :2026 as % : : : : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent : Beef .............: 2,020.2 2,118.5 1,932.8 96 91 4,390.3 4,051.3 92 Veal .............: 2.0 1.6 1.6 80 99 4.5 3.3 73 Pork .............: 2,200.5 2,449.5 2,199.4 100 90 4,702.3 4,648.9 99 Lamb and mutton ..: 10.5 10.4 10.8 103 104 21.4 21.2 99 : Total red meat ...: 4,233.3 4,580.1 4,144.7 98 90 9,118.5 8,724.8 96 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :February 2026 as % of : January to February : February : January : February :---------------------------------------------------- Type : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : February : January : : :2026 as % : : : : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent : Beef .............: 1,989.2 2,086.3 1,902.7 96 91 4,324.9 3,989.0 92 Veal .............: 1.9 1.5 1.5 78 99 4.3 3.0 71 Pork .............: 2,192.0 2,441.2 2,191.8 100 90 4,684.5 4,633.0 99 Lamb and mutton ..: 9.4 9.3 9.8 105 106 19.1 19.1 100 : Total red meat ...: 4,192.6 4,538.3 4,105.9 98 90 9,032.7 8,644.2 96 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : February : January to February : February : January : February : 2026 as % :-------------------------------------------- Species : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : of 2025 : : : 2026 as % : : : : : 2025 : 2026 : of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent percent : Cattle : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 2,280.2 2,333.9 2,128.7 93 4,948.5 4,462.6 90 Other ................1,000: 43.6 44.8 41.5 95 91.9 86.2 94 Commercial ...........1,000: 2,323.8 2,378.6 2,170.2 93 5,040.5 4,548.9 90 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 1,436 1,468 1,469 102 1,440 1,469 102 Other ...............pounds: 1,232 1,260 1,268 103 1,239 1,264 102 Commercial ..........pounds: 1,432 1,464 1,466 102 1,436 1,465 102 : Calves : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 10.6 7.9 7.7 72 23.6 15.6 66 Other ................1,000: 0.6 0.6 0.6 95 1.2 1.2 97 Commercial ...........1,000: 11.2 8.5 8.2 73 24.8 16.7 67 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 311 330 338 109 310 334 108 Other ...............pounds: 372 396 396 106 376 396 105 Commercial ..........pounds: 314 334 342 109 313 338 108 : Hogs : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 10,119.8 11,107.3 10,049.2 99 21,538.4 21,156.5 98 Other ................1,000: 44.2 43.1 39.1 88 92.7 82.2 89 Commercial ...........1,000: 10,164.0 11,150.4 10,088.3 99 21,631.1 21,238.7 98 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 291 295 292 101 292 293 101 Other ...............pounds: 264 264 266 101 264 265 101 Commercial ..........pounds: 291 294 292 101 292 293 101 : Sheep and lambs : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 147.4 151.5 157.7 107 299.0 309.1 103 Other ................1,000: 21.7 21.2 18.8 87 43.6 40.0 92 Commercial ...........1,000: 169.1 172.7 176.4 104 342.6 349.1 102 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 126 120 123 98 125 122 97 Other ...............pounds: 102 105 102 100 105 103 99 Commercial ..........pounds: 123 118 121 98 123 120 97 : Goats : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 42.0 41.4 42.1 100 85.5 83.5 98 Other ................1,000: 7.9 8.8 8.1 103 17.4 16.9 97 Commercial ...........1,000: 49.9 50.3 50.1 101 102.9 100.4 98 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 65 64 64 99 64 64 100 Other ...............pounds: 79 84 86 109 81 85 104 Commercial ..........pounds: 67 68 68 101 67 68 101 : Bison : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 5.3 4.6 3.9 74 11.4 8.6 75 Other ................1,000: 0.3 0.3 0.4 137 0.7 0.7 107 Commercial ...........1,000: 5.6 4.9 4.4 77 12.1 9.3 77 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States [Includes total beef, veal, pork, lamb, and mutton. Totals and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : February : January : February :February 2026 as : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : % of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------- million pounds ---------- percent : Alabama ...............: 0.9 1.0 1.0 108 Alaska ................: (Y) 0.1 0.1 (X) Arizona ...............: 39.2 39.8 37.7 96 Arkansas ..............: 0.4 0.5 0.5 117 California ............: 80.9 86.0 79.9 99 Colorado ..............: 164.9 185.9 166.3 101 Delaware-Maryland .....: 1.9 1.9 1.9 99 Florida ...............: 4.8 4.3 4.6 95 Georgia ...............: 7.3 10.0 9.6 132 Hawaii ................: 0.6 0.6 0.7 112 : Idaho .................: 43.1 47.0 42.4 98 Illinois ..............: 262.7 293.3 262.7 100 Indiana ...............: 159.8 177.3 158.7 99 Iowa ..................: 704.7 807.8 720.6 102 Kansas ................: 443.8 464.8 434.3 98 Kentucky ..............: 47.2 52.6 52.6 112 Louisiana .............: 0.4 0.4 0.3 97 Michigan ..............: 126.0 138.1 125.9 100 Minnesota .............: 213.6 240.1 217.1 102 Mississippi ...........: 0.8 0.7 0.8 101 : Missouri ..............: 161.0 194.6 177.7 110 Montana ...............: 1.4 1.3 1.6 118 Nebraska ..............: 589.9 622.5 549.7 93 Nevada ................: 0.1 0.1 0.1 86 New England 1/ ........: 2.5 2.3 2.1 86 New Jersey ............: 4.0 4.1 4.3 108 New Mexico ............: 0.4 0.5 0.4 87 New York ..............: 2.6 2.7 2.7 104 North Carolina ........: 234.5 226.8 195.9 84 North Dakota ..........: 0.8 0.9 0.7 94 : Ohio ..................: 23.6 24.2 23.7 101 Oklahoma ..............: 96.8 99.1 100.7 104 Oregon ................: 2.1 2.3 2.1 97 Pennsylvania ..........: 126.8 127.7 119.6 94 South Carolina ........: 15.0 11.7 11.4 76 South Dakota ..........: 119.0 127.2 111.2 93 Tennessee .............: 21.2 26.3 24.0 113 Texas .................: 330.8 333.6 296.3 90 Utah ..................: 43.8 47.9 44.8 102 Virginia ..............: 1.1 1.1 1.3 123 : Washington ............: 65.5 78.6 70.7 108 West Virginia .........: 0.9 0.6 0.6 64 Wisconsin .............: 85.6 91.2 85.1 99 Wyoming ...............: 0.9 0.8 0.8 83 : United States .........: 4,233.3 4,580.1 4,144.7 98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (X) Not applicable. (Y) Less than level of precision shown. 1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Commercial Cattle Slaughter - States and United States: February 2025 and 2026 [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head --- --- 1,000 pounds --- ---- pounds ---- : Alabama ..........: 0.8 0.7 900 857 1,135 1,197 Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.1 70 87 1,134 1,142 Arizona ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Arkansas .........: 0.6 0.6 634 703 1,007 1,119 California .......: 83.4 82.7 119,843 116,558 1,447 1,419 Colorado .........: 174.8 169.0 259,864 258,910 1,488 1,533 Delaware-Maryland : 1.8 1.8 2,502 2,531 1,357 1,413 Florida ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Hawaii ...........: 0.8 0.8 942 1,051 1,178 1,248 : Idaho ............: 52.5 50.3 73,038 69,856 1,398 1,398 Illinois .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Indiana ..........: 7.8 9.4 9,088 12,137 1,180 1,296 Iowa .............: 43.3 44.4 62,906 65,229 1,455 1,470 Kansas ...........: 473.4 453.0 682,205 668,033 1,441 1,475 Kentucky .........: 5.8 5.6 6,779 6,809 1,182 1,233 Louisiana ........: 0.5 0.4 514 462 1,032 1,038 Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Mississippi ......: 0.6 0.5 591 546 1,037 1,064 : Missouri .........: 4.5 19.9 5,666 27,386 1,261 1,384 Montana ..........: 1.6 1.9 1,993 2,369 1,256 1,272 Nebraska .........: 485.6 426.9 725,837 657,006 1,496 1,541 Nevada ...........: (D) 0.1 (D) 82 (D) 1,190 New England 1/ ...: 2.7 2.3 3,270 2,842 1,236 1,262 New Jersey .......: 4.5 4.4 5,287 5,125 1,169 1,169 New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.4 585 482 1,129 1,103 New York .........: 2.7 2.8 3,389 3,640 1,255 1,308 North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Dakota .....: 1.0 0.8 1,234 1,154 1,289 1,361 : Ohio .............: 5.6 5.8 7,453 7,782 1,327 1,337 Oklahoma .........: 6.1 6.9 7,381 8,483 1,217 1,244 Oregon ...........: 1.1 1.0 1,383 1,239 1,205 1,274 Pennsylvania .....: 87.0 79.3 116,510 108,213 1,344 1,369 South Carolina ...: 20.8 16.2 29,289 22,151 1,413 1,374 South Dakota .....: 34.9 (D) 53,153 (D) 1,528 (D) Tennessee ........: 2.9 2.9 2,942 3,023 1,034 1,072 Texas ............: 395.2 338.4 538,499 479,779 1,366 1,422 Utah .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Virginia .........: 1.3 1.6 1,379 1,871 1,055 1,186 : Washington .......: 73.0 75.4 106,496 113,161 1,463 1,504 West Virginia ....: 1.1 0.6 1,311 779 1,212 1,287 Wisconsin ........: 89.8 87.8 126,575 124,532 1,418 1,425 Wyoming ..........: 1.2 1.0 1,425 1,171 1,206 1,231 : United States ....: 2,323.8 2,170.2 3,322,068 3,173,867 1,432 1,466 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: February 2025 and 2026 [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -- 1,000 head -- 1,000 pounds --- pounds --- : Alabama ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Alaska ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Arizona ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Arkansas .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) California .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Colorado .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Delaware-Maryland : (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Florida ..........: 0.1 0.1 54 30 400 371 Georgia ..........: 0.1 (D) 40 (D) 485 (D) Hawaii ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Idaho ............: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) Illinois .........: 0.2 0.2 76 65 400 406 Indiana ..........: (D) 0.3 (D) 133 (D) 403 Iowa .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Kansas ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Kentucky .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Louisiana ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) (D) Mississippi ......: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) : Missouri .........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Montana ..........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Nebraska .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Nevada ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New England 1/ ...: 0.1 0.1 25 20 223 257 New Jersey .......: 1.2 1.1 451 424 377 390 New Mexico .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New York .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Carolina ...: 0.1 (Y) 46 (X) 349 (X) North Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Ohio .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Oklahoma .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Oregon ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Pennsylvania .....: 4.3 (D) 1,777 (D) 417 (D) South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Tennessee ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Texas ............: 0.1 0.1 36 43 479 477 Utah .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Virginia .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Washington .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Wisconsin ........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Wyoming ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : United States ....: 11.2 8.2 3,501 2,802 314 342 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (X) Not applicable. (Y) Less than level of precision shown. 1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: February 2025 and 2026 [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head ---- --- 1,000 pounds --- --- pounds --- : Alabama ..........: 1.4 1.7 586 728 407 438 Alaska ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Arizona ..........: 0.1 0.1 25 28 303 327 Arkansas .........: 0.3 0.5 91 133 260 281 California .......: 72.8 80.7 17,408 18,722 240 232 Colorado .........: 3.0 2.3 436 380 147 167 Delaware-Maryland : 1.6 1.5 464 427 296 293 Florida ..........: 4.1 3.9 540 463 132 120 Georgia ..........: 5.0 4.4 1,329 1,216 264 279 Hawaii ...........: 0.1 0.2 43 46 293 269 : Idaho ............: 11.1 12.4 2,882 3,246 259 261 Illinois .........: 941.6 963.7 271,292 276,527 288 287 Indiana ..........: 717.9 701.5 205,983 202,411 287 289 Iowa .............: 3,082.6 3,125.9 897,935 914,132 291 292 Kansas ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Kentucky .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Louisiana ........: 0.2 0.2 49 58 218 241 Michigan .........: 400.5 391.2 118,416 114,169 296 292 Minnesota ........: 922.0 924.7 257,728 263,076 280 285 Mississippi ......: 3.3 3.7 614 668 186 182 : Missouri .........: 721.5 739.1 210,514 217,557 292 294 Montana ..........: 0.8 0.8 223 232 294 294 Nebraska .........: 639.8 644.5 186,306 188,076 291 292 Nevada ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New England 1/ ...: 1.9 1.7 499 473 267 278 New Jersey .......: 7.4 10.5 704 1,096 95 104 New Mexico .......: 0.2 0.2 50 48 269 265 New York .........: 1.5 1.5 360 359 248 243 North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Dakota .....: 0.2 0.3 53 74 269 290 : Ohio .............: 85.5 84.8 25,264 25,482 296 301 Oklahoma .........: 421.3 414.7 121,748 125,090 289 302 Oregon ...........: 5.1 5.1 1,320 1,337 260 261 Pennsylvania .....: 268.3 (D) 75,755 (D) 282 (D) South Carolina ...: 1.5 1.4 396 369 256 255 South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Tennessee ........: 65.4 73.8 29,418 33,786 451 458 Texas ............: 22.9 21.5 4,490 4,224 196 197 Utah .............: 1.5 2.3 365 359 246 155 Virginia .........: 0.9 0.8 259 256 301 303 : Washington .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) West Virginia ....: 0.5 0.4 166 106 307 267 Wisconsin ........: 65.2 65.1 26,808 28,141 412 433 Wyoming ..........: 0.2 0.2 44 51 266 262 : United States ....: 10,164.0 10,088.3 2,952,686 2,946,221 291 292 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (X) Not applicable. (Y) Less than level of precision shown. 1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: February 2025 and 2026 [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total live weight : Average live weight State :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --- 1,000 head -- -- 1,000 pounds -- --- pounds --- : Alabama ..........: (Y) 0.1 (X) 6 (X) 95 Alaska ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Arizona ..........: 0.8 (D) 87 (D) 111 (D) Arkansas .........: 0.1 0.1 15 13 100 93 California .......: 18.5 18.4 2,749 2,748 149 150 Colorado .........: 32.2 38.0 5,527 6,341 172 167 Delaware-Maryland : 1.4 1.3 137 126 95 93 Florida ..........: 3.3 2.6 161 135 49 52 Georgia ..........: 2.9 3.1 165 197 58 63 Hawaii ...........: 0.1 0.2 16 25 137 132 : Idaho ............: 0.1 0.2 19 26 158 150 Illinois .........: 5.5 4.8 474 391 86 81 Indiana ..........: 5.6 5.2 581 530 105 101 Iowa .............: 0.1 0.1 13 14 125 112 Kansas ...........: 0.2 0.2 18 15 94 83 Kentucky .........: 0.8 0.7 84 72 106 109 Louisiana ........: 0.9 0.9 55 53 62 56 Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: 0.6 0.7 44 56 80 81 Mississippi ......: 0.2 0.2 17 12 72 82 : Missouri .........: 1.6 1.6 133 117 84 76 Montana ..........: 0.3 0.3 35 34 119 116 Nebraska .........: (Y) 0.1 (X) 10 (X) 115 Nevada ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New England 1/ ...: 4.4 3.3 439 321 100 98 New Jersey .......: 13.0 15.5 1,067 1,394 82 90 New Mexico .......: 0.4 0.6 55 94 142 150 New York .........: 5.6 6.1 592 621 106 101 North Carolina ...: 5.1 6.2 315 388 62 63 North Dakota .....: 0.1 0.1 7 8 122 112 : Ohio .............: 5.1 3.7 807 567 159 153 Oklahoma .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Oregon ...........: 4.1 4.3 665 683 163 160 Pennsylvania .....: 10.0 10.5 1,060 1,077 106 102 South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) South Dakota .....: 0.1 0.1 18 16 122 116 Tennessee ........: (D) 1.4 (D) 121 (D) 85 Texas ............: 23.2 20.3 2,415 1,632 104 80 Utah .............: 1.1 1.2 152 156 138 134 Virginia .........: 1.0 0.3 75 27 78 81 : Washington .......: 1.0 1.0 132 133 133 134 West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Wisconsin ........: 0.7 0.9 78 74 115 81 Wyoming ..........: 0.1 0.1 15 13 153 124 : United States ....: 169.1 176.4 20,727 21,307 123 121 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (X) Not applicable. (Y) Less than level of precision shown. 1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Livestock Slaughtered Under Federal Inspection by Class - United States [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : January to February : : : : January to February Class : February : January : February :-----------------------: February : January : February :----------------------- : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------------------- 1,000 head -------------------- ----------------- percent of total ---------------- : Cattle : Steers ...........: 1,119.9 1,137.9 1,034.1 2,450.6 2,172.0 49.1 48.8 48.6 49.5 48.7 Heifers ..........: 728.2 741.2 675.0 1,567.7 1,416.2 31.9 31.8 31.7 31.7 31.7 All cows .........: 403.8 424.5 392.1 870.9 816.6 17.7 18.2 18.4 17.6 18.3 Dairy cows .......: 217.0 246.8 237.3 464.8 484.1 9.5 10.6 11.1 9.4 10.8 Other cows .......: 186.7 177.7 154.8 406.1 332.5 8.2 7.6 7.3 8.2 7.5 Bulls ............: 28.3 30.3 27.4 59.3 57.8 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.3 : Total ............: 2,280.2 2,333.9 2,128.7 4,948.5 4,462.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Calves and : vealers ...... : 10.6 7.9 7.7 23.6 15.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Hogs : Barrows and : gilts ..........: 9,857.4 10,841.3 9,802.6 20,981.4 20,643.9 97.4 97.6 97.5 97.4 97.6 Sows .............: 241.8 244.8 228.5 512.2 473.2 2.4 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.2 Boars ............: 20.5 21.2 18.1 44.8 39.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 : Total ............: 10,119.8 11,107.3 10,049.2 21,538.4 21,156.5 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Sheep : Mature : sheep ..........: 8.9 10.5 11.4 18.2 21.9 6.1 6.9 7.2 6.1 7.1 Lambs and : yearlings ......: 138.5 141.0 146.3 280.8 287.2 93.9 93.1 92.8 93.9 92.9 : Total ............: 147.4 151.5 157.7 299.0 309.1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : January to February Class : February : January : February :----------------------- : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : pounds : Cattle ............... : 874 896 896 876 896 Steers 1/ ...............: 948 985 982 952 984 Heifers 1/ ..............: 869 893 892 869 892 All cows 1/ .............: 674 658 669 670 663 Bulls 1/ ................: 900 927 928 897 927 : Calves and vealers ... : 183 194 199 183 196 : Hogs ................. : 217 220 218 218 219 Barrows and gilts 2/ ....: 215 218 216 216 217 Sows 2/ .................: 293 300 297 294 298 Boars 2/ ................: 220 225 227 221 226 : Sheep ................ : 64 61 62 64 62 Mature sheep 3/ .........: 67 64 63 66 63 Lambs and yearlings 3/ ..: 64 61 62 64 62 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Included in cattle average dressed weight. 2/ Included in hog average dressed weight. 3/ Included in sheep average dressed weight. Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: February 2026 [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Cattle : Calves Standard :----------------------------------------------------------------------- federal : : : : Cows : : regions 1/ : Total : Steers :Heifers :--------------------------: Bulls : Total : : : : All : Dairy : Other : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 2.0 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.1 2 ............: 7.2 2.1 (D) 2.8 (D) (D) (D) 1.7 3 ............: 80.6 31.8 (D) 41.0 33.4 7.6 (D) (D) 4 ............: 53.2 5.4 2.1 41.0 15.5 25.5 4.6 0.2 5 ............: 221.7 103.5 27.6 (D) 59.5 (D) (D) (D) 6 ............: 340.6 148.8 121.8 62.5 32.2 30.3 7.5 (D) 7 ............: 935.5 509.2 370.3 (D) (D) 39.5 (D) (Y) 8 ............: 237.3 126.8 98.5 (D) (D) (D) (D) (Y) 9 ............: 124.5 51.2 15.2 57.2 49.4 7.7 0.9 (D) 10 ...........: 126.2 54.5 33.1 37.5 30.1 7.4 1.1 (Y) : United States :2,128.7 1,034.1 675.0 392.1 237.3 154.8 27.4 7.7 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and : :and gilts: Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 1.5 1.5 (Y) (Y) 3.2 0.2 3.0 2 ............: 12.0 11.9 (Y) (Y) 21.1 3.2 17.9 3 ............: (D) (D) 0.2 (D) 13.2 0.6 12.6 4 ............: (D) (D) 75.9 (D) 12.5 0.8 11.7 5 ............: 3,114.9 3,024.7 84.8 5.4 28.4 1.5 26.9 6 ............: 432.7 432.6 0.1 0.1 15.8 1.9 13.9 7 ............: 4,523.4 4,445.9 67.5 10.0 1.7 0.1 1.6 8 ............: (D) (D) (Y) (D) 39.0 (D) (D) 9 ............: 77.9 77.9 (Y) (Y) 18.1 (D) (D) 10 ...........: 18.8 18.7 (Y) (Y) 4.6 0.1 4.5 : United States :10,049.2 9,802.6 228.5 18.1 157.7 11.4 146.3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (Y) Less than level of precision shown. 1/ States included in regions are as follows: 1 - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont; 2 - New Jersey, New York; 3 - Delaware-Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia; 4 - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee; 5 - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin; 6 - Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas; 7 - Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska; 8- Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming; 9 - Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada; 10 - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington. Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: January to February 2026 [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Cattle : Calves Standard :----------------------------------------------------------------------- federal : : : : Cows : : regions 1/ : Total : Steers :Heifers :--------------------------: Bulls : Total : : : : All : Dairy : Other : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 4.3 1.7 1.0 1.1 0.8 0.3 0.5 0.1 2 ............: 14.4 4.4 (D) 5.5 (D) (D) (D) 3.5 3 ............: 163.5 63.8 (D) 83.7 67.3 16.5 (D) (D) 4 ............: 107.2 10.9 4.1 82.7 29.4 53.4 9.4 0.4 5 ............: 459.2 218.7 57.9 (D) 121.0 (D) (D) (D) 6 ............: 728.1 305.1 264.7 141.8 65.9 75.8 16.5 (D) 7 ............:1,957.5 1,077.4 766.1 (D) (D) 80.9 (D) 0.1 8 ............: 502.2 274.4 203.8 (D) (D) (D) (D) (Y) 9 ............: 259.0 102.7 34.4 120.1 104.2 15.9 1.7 (D) 10 ...........: 267.4 112.9 72.4 79.7 62.6 17.1 2.3 0.1 : United States :4,462.6 2,172.0 1,416.2 816.6 484.1 332.5 57.8 15.6 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and : :and gilts : Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 3.2 3.2 (Y) (Y) 6.3 0.4 5.9 2 ............: 21.2 21.0 0.1 (Y) 42.0 5.8 36.2 3 ............: (D) (D) 0.3 (D) 25.8 1.7 24.1 4 ............: (D) (D) 158.2 (D) 24.8 1.7 23.1 5 ............: 6,554.4 6,369.9 173.4 11.1 55.6 2.9 52.7 6 ............: 864.6 864.3 0.1 0.2 30.3 3.1 27.2 7 ............: 9,551.4 9,388.7 140.9 21.8 3.3 0.2 3.1 8 ............: (D) (D) 0.1 (D) 75.8 (D) (D) 9 ............: 153.3 153.2 0.1 (Y) 36.0 (D) (D) 10 ...........: 39.3 39.3 (Y) (Y) 9.2 0.2 9.0 : United States : 21,156.5 20,643.9 473.2 39.4 309.1 21.9 287.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (Y) Less than level of precision shown. 1/ States included in regions are as follows: 1 - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont; 2 - New Jersey, New York; 3 - Delaware-Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia; 4 - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee; 5 - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin; 6 - Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas; 7 - Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska; 8- Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming; 9 - Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada; 10 - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington. Federally Inspected Slaughter Percent of Total Commercial Slaughter - United States -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : January to February Species : February : January : February :------------------------ : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent : Cattle .......: 98.1 98.1 98.1 98.2 98.1 Calves .......: 94.6 93.1 93.0 95.2 93.0 Hogs .........: 99.6 99.6 99.6 99.6 99.6 Sheep ........: 87.2 87.7 89.4 87.3 88.5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terms and Definitions Used for Livestock Slaughter Estimates Average Live Weight: The weight of the whole animal, before slaughter. Excludes post-mortem condemnations. Commercial Production: Includes slaughter and meat production in federally inspected and other plants, but excludes animals slaughtered on farms. Based on packers' dressed weights. Custom-Exempt Plants: Plants that do not sell meat but operate on a custom basis only are custom-exempt. The animals and meat are not inspected, but the facilities must meet health standards. These are considered NFI plants and head kill is included in NFI totals. Dressed Weight: The weight of a chilled animal carcass. Beef with kidney knob in; veal with hide off; lamb and mutton with pluck out; pork with leaf fat and kidneys out, jowls on and head off. Dressing Percent: Usually expressed as a percentage yield of chilled carcass in relation to the weight of the live animal on hoof. For example, a live hog that weighed 200 pounds on hoof and yielded a carcass weighing 140 pounds would have a dressing percentage of 70. Federally Inspected (FI) Plants: Plants that transport meat interstate must employ federal inspectors to assure compliance with USDA standards. Any state whose commercial plants operate entirely under federal inspection may still have custom-exempt establishments for which NFI estimates are made. Food and Meat Inspection: Includes examination, checking, or testing of a carcass and/or meat against established government standards and involves checking the facility for cleanliness, health of animals, or parts of animals and quality of the meat produced. Non-Federally Inspected (NFI) Plants: Plants which sell and transport only intrastate. State inspectors assure compliance with individual state standards for these NFI plants. Mobile slaughtering units are excluded and are considered farm slaughter. Number of Head: Includes post-mortem condemnations. Plant, Slaughter: An establishment where animals are killed and butchered. Red Meat: Red meat production is the carcass weight after slaughter excluding condemnation and is comprised of beef, veal, pork, and lamb and mutton. The FI red meat production is equal to the total carcass weight after slaughter. The NFI meat production formula is (NFI head kill) X (live weight) X (FI dressing percentage) = NFI red meat production. Slaughter: Killing and butchering of animals primarily for food. Slaughter, Farm: Animals slaughtered on farms primarily for home consumption. Excludes custom slaughter for farmers at commercial establishments, but includes mobile slaughtering on farms. These estimates appear only in the annual slaughter release. Talmedge-Aiken (TA) Plants: Slaughter plants in which USDA is responsible for inspection. However, federal inspection is carried out by State employees. These plants are considered to be federally inspected. Total Live Weight: The total weight of live animals, before slaughter. Excludes post-mortem condemnations. Wholesome Meat Act: Legislation that specifies that all meat produced for sale in the United States must be inspected. Meat that is transported interstate must be inspected in compliance with Federal (USDA) Standards. Statistical Methodology Data Sources: Primary data for the Livestock Slaughter publication are obtained from electronic reports completed by inspectors from the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA, which provide daily counts of animals slaughtered in Federally Inspected (FI) plants, in addition to total live and dressed weights. These counts are combined with data from State-administered Non-Federally Inspected (NFI) slaughter plants to derive total commercial slaughter estimates. There are approximately 1,100 livestock slaughter plants in the United States operating under Federal Inspection and about 1,825 Non-Federally Inspected (State-inspected or custom-exempt) slaughter plants. Slaughter from State- inspected Talmedge-Aiken plants is included in FI totals (see Terms and Definitions, page 14). To prevent duplication in reporting between FI and NFI plants and assure all FI plants are included, certificates prepared by FSIS identifying operating status are constantly monitored. Revision Policy: Number of head slaughtered, live weights, and dressed weights are subject to revision the following month after the monthly release. Annual totals are published in the slaughter summary each April which includes any revisions made to current and previous year's published data. Revisions are generally the result of late reports received from slaughter plants and are usually less than one-half of one percent. No revisions will be made to the previous year's data after the publication of the annual summary in April. Procedures and Reliability: The livestock slaughter data is obtained electronically on a daily basis and summarized approximately two weeks after the week of slaughter. A computer program compares each plant's data with the historical data for that plant. Data are checked for unusual values for head kill, patterns of kill, average weights, and dressing percent, based on each plant's past operating profile. In addition, the computer program provides a listing of missing reports for follow-up contact with FSIS. Average live and dressed weights and dressing percentages by State are compared with the previous weeks as an additional check. Fluctuations are frequently the result of plants permanently or temporarily closing and a shift in the species reported. The FSIS District Veterinary Medical Specialists (DVMS) are contacted by e- mail or telephone for missing or potentially erroneous slaughter data. This assures that plants slaughtering a large number of head or several species are accounted for each week. Any corrections FSIS makes to the slaughter data are included in the summary. Computer imputation may be necessary for incomplete reports. The imputation of live and dressed weights is based on the current week reported data of plants of similar size and location. Imputation for live and dressed weight data for cattle and hogs is less than 10 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The imputation for calves and sheep is more frequent and variable. If no data is received electronically or by other means, for plants slaughtering fewer than 50 total head weekly of only one species, data are imputed. The imputation of head for any plant is based on the historical data for that particular plant. The imputation of head slaughtered is rare but when necessary, the imputed head kill for missing plants usually is less than 1 percent of the United States head kill totals. FI data are summarized weekly and accumulated to a monthly total for this release. These weekly totals are published by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) in Livestock, Meat, Wool Market News, Weekly Summary, and statistics are also available on the NASS website. NFI data are summarized monthly only. Livestock slaughter estimates are based on a census of operating plants and therefore, have no sampling error. However, they may be subject to non- sampling errors such as omissions, duplications and mistakes in reporting, recording and processing the data. These errors are minimized through rigid quality controls in the computer edit program and summarization process, and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. No data are published when an individual plant's data could be divulged. If not published, as indicated with a (D), these data are still included in United States and region totals. A review of the data is made annually to determine the publishable data. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@usda.gov. Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch................................................ (202) 692-0069 Sherry Bertramsen - Livestock Slaughter............................................. (202) 690-8632 Tiffany Byrne - Dairy Products...................................................... (651) 440-7789 Ryan Cowen - Cattle, Cattle on Feed................................................. (202) 720-3040 Kim DaPra - Milk Production......................................................... (202) 720-3278 Fatema Haque - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised................... (202) 720-3244 Derron Martin - Catfish, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Trout................. (202) 690-3237 Ralph Mondesir - Hogs and Pigs...................................................... (202) 720-3106 Suzanne Richards - Cost of Pollination, Honey, Honey Bee Colonies, Sheep and Goats.. (202) 720-4448 Shulonda Shaw - Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses, Cold Storage................... (202) 720-3240 Autumn Stone - Layers, Eggs......................................................... (202) 690-3676 Takiyah Walker - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery................................. (202) 720-6147 Access to NASS Reports For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways: All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov. The national specific reports are available via a free e-mail subscription. To set-up this free subscription, visit www.nass.usda.gov and click on "National" in upper right corner above "search" box to create an account and select the reports you would like to receive. 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