Livestock Slaughter ISSN: 0499-0544 Released April 23, 2026, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Commercial Red Meat Production Up 2 Percent from Last Year March 2025 contained 21 weekdays (including 0 holidays) and 5 Saturdays. March 2026 contained 22 weekdays (including 0 holidays) and 4 Saturdays. Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.51 billion pounds in March, up 2 percent from the 4.42 billion pounds produced in March 2025. Beef production, at 2.10 billion pounds, was 3 percent below the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.34 million head, down 6 percent from March 2025. The average live weight was up 45 pounds from the previous year, at 1,471 pounds. Veal production totaled 1.7 million pounds, 16 percent below March a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 8,300 head, down 23 percent from March 2025. The average live weight was up 32 pounds from last year, at 359 pounds. Pork production totaled 2.40 billion pounds, up 7 percent from the previous year. Hog slaughter totaled 11.0 million head, up 6 percent from March 2025. The average live weight was up 1 pound from the previous year, at 292 pounds. Lamb and mutton production, at 12.1 million pounds, was down 6 percent from March 2025. Sheep slaughter totaled 197,200 head, 1 percent below last year. The average live weight was 121 pounds, down 6 pounds from March a year ago. January to March 2026 commercial red meat production was 13.2 billion pounds, down 2 percent from 2025. Accumulated beef production was down 6 percent from last year, veal was down 24 percent, pork was up 1 percent from last year, and lamb and mutton production was down 3 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: March 2025 and 2026.......... 7 Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: March 2025 and 2026............ 8 Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: March 2025 and 2026............. 9 Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: March 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: March 2026................ 12 Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: January to March 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] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : March 2026 as % of : January to March : March : February : March :---------------------------------------------------- Type : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : March : February : : :2026 as % : : : : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent : Beef .............: 2,153.1 1,932.9 2,096.0 97 108 6,544.0 6,147.4 94 Veal .............: 2.1 1.6 1.7 84 107 6.6 5.0 76 Pork .............: 2,254.0 2,199.4 2,401.4 107 109 6,956.4 7,050.4 101 Lamb and mutton ..: 12.8 10.8 12.1 94 112 34.3 33.3 97 : Total red meat ...: 4,422.1 4,144.7 4,511.3 102 109 13,541.3 13,236.1 98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : March 2026 as % of : January to March : March : February : March :---------------------------------------------------- Type : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : March : February : : :2026 as % : : : : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- million pounds ------ --- percent --- million pounds percent : Beef .............: 2,119.2 1,902.8 2,063.3 97 108 6,444.1 6,052.4 94 Veal .............: 1.9 1.5 1.6 85 108 6.2 4.7 75 Pork .............: 2,245.1 2,191.8 2,393.0 107 109 6,929.6 7,026.0 101 Lamb and mutton ..: 11.5 9.8 11.1 96 113 30.6 30.2 99 : Total red meat ...: 4,377.8 4,105.9 4,469.0 102 109 13,410.5 13,113.2 98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : March : January to March : March : February : March : 2026 as % :-------------------------------------------- Species : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : of 2025 : : : 2026 as % : : : : : 2025 : 2026 : of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent percent : Cattle : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 2,436.2 2,128.8 2,291.2 94 7,384.8 6,753.9 91 Other ................1,000: 47.5 41.5 44.9 95 140.1 131.2 94 Commercial ...........1,000: 2,483.7 2,170.3 2,336.2 94 7,524.9 6,885.1 91 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 1,430 1,469 1,475 103 1,437 1,471 102 Other ...............pounds: 1,239 1,268 1,265 102 1,241 1,264 102 Commercial ..........pounds: 1,426 1,466 1,471 103 1,433 1,467 102 : Calves : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 10.3 7.7 7.9 77 33.9 23.4 69 Other ................1,000: 0.6 0.6 0.5 75 1.9 1.6 88 Commercial ...........1,000: 10.9 8.2 8.3 77 35.7 25.1 70 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 322 338 355 110 313 341 109 Other ...............pounds: 416 396 422 102 398 404 102 Commercial ..........pounds: 327 342 359 110 318 345 109 : Hogs : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 10,367.9 10,049.2 10,970.2 106 31,906.2 32,126.7 101 Other ................1,000: 46.6 39.1 43.7 94 139.4 125.9 90 Commercial ...........1,000: 10,414.5 10,088.3 11,013.9 106 32,045.7 32,252.6 101 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 291 292 292 101 291 293 101 Other ...............pounds: 264 266 265 100 263 265 101 Commercial ..........pounds: 291 292 292 101 291 293 101 : Sheep and lambs : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 176.2 157.7 178.5 101 475.2 487.6 103 Other ................1,000: 23.2 18.8 18.7 80 69.1 58.7 85 Commercial ...........1,000: 199.4 176.5 197.2 99 544.3 546.3 100 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 129 123 122 95 127 122 96 Other ...............pounds: 111 102 104 94 106 103 97 Commercial ..........pounds: 127 121 121 95 124 120 97 : Goats : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 46.2 41.8 47.0 102 131.6 130.3 99 Other ................1,000: 9.9 8.1 9.0 91 27.2 25.9 95 Commercial ...........1,000: 56.0 49.9 56.1 100 158.9 156.2 98 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 66 64 64 97 65 64 99 Other ...............pounds: 81 86 79 98 82 83 101 Commercial ..........pounds: 68 68 66 97 68 67 99 : Bison : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 5.7 3.9 4.8 85 17.1 13.4 78 Other ................1,000: 0.3 0.4 0.4 115 1.0 1.1 106 Commercial ...........1,000: 6.0 4.4 5.2 86 18.1 14.5 80 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States [Includes total beef, veal, pork, lamb, and mutton. Totals and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : March : February : March : March 2026 as : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : % of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------- million pounds ---------- percent : Alabama ...............: 1.1 1.0 1.1 92 Alaska ................: (Y) 0.1 0.1 (X) Arizona ...............: 40.3 37.7 44.7 111 Arkansas ..............: 0.6 0.5 0.5 90 California ............: 84.2 79.9 82.1 97 Colorado ..............: 188.1 166.3 105.7 56 Delaware-Maryland .....: 2.0 1.9 1.9 96 Florida ...............: 5.3 4.6 4.5 85 Georgia ...............: 8.7 9.6 9.2 106 Hawaii ................: 0.7 0.7 0.7 99 : Idaho .................: 46.1 42.4 46.6 101 Illinois ..............: 262.7 262.7 280.0 107 Indiana ...............: 163.1 158.7 177.4 109 Iowa ..................: 725.1 720.6 783.7 108 Kansas ................: 454.4 434.3 478.9 105 Kentucky ..............: 52.6 52.6 54.0 103 Louisiana .............: 0.3 0.3 0.4 113 Michigan ..............: 132.2 125.9 140.9 107 Minnesota .............: 226.1 217.1 235.2 104 Mississippi ...........: 0.9 0.8 0.9 107 : Missouri ..............: 163.9 177.7 182.7 112 Montana ...............: 2.2 1.6 2.1 95 Nebraska ..............: 626.0 549.7 634.9 101 Nevada ................: 0.1 0.1 0.1 90 New England 1/ ........: 2.6 2.1 2.3 87 New Jersey ............: 4.4 4.3 4.9 112 New Mexico ............: 0.4 0.4 0.4 112 New York ..............: 2.9 2.7 2.9 101 North Carolina ........: 233.8 195.9 234.1 100 North Dakota ..........: 0.8 0.7 0.8 93 : Ohio ..................: 25.3 23.7 26.4 105 Oklahoma ..............: 105.6 100.7 108.7 103 Oregon ................: 2.3 2.1 2.3 100 Pennsylvania ..........: 128.7 119.6 132.5 103 South Carolina ........: 16.3 11.4 11.2 69 South Dakota ..........: 118.3 111.2 123.6 105 Tennessee .............: 23.0 24.0 27.8 121 Texas .................: 361.0 296.3 335.9 93 Utah ..................: 46.1 44.8 50.2 109 Virginia ..............: 1.3 1.3 1.3 103 : Washington ............: 70.6 70.7 82.0 116 West Virginia .........: 0.9 0.6 0.7 84 Wisconsin .............: 90.2 85.1 94.1 104 Wyoming ...............: 0.8 0.8 0.8 101 : United States .........: 4,422.1 4,144.7 4,511.3 102 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: March 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 ..........: 1.0 0.8 1,167 889 1,123 1,136 Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.1 55 83 1,108 1,225 Arizona ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Arkansas .........: 0.8 0.6 879 718 1,094 1,112 California .......: 86.3 84.9 124,272 119,496 1,451 1,418 Colorado .........: 199.6 105.5 293,468 161,484 1,472 1,532 Delaware-Maryland : 1.9 1.8 2,691 2,585 1,391 1,410 Florida ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Hawaii ...........: 1.0 0.9 1,121 1,091 1,177 1,280 : Idaho ............: 57.2 54.4 77,509 76,412 1,363 1,414 Illinois .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Indiana ..........: 8.4 10.3 10,297 13,009 1,241 1,276 Iowa .............: 46.8 49.5 68,071 72,748 1,456 1,472 Kansas ...........: 491.0 495.2 697,975 733,825 1,422 1,482 Kentucky .........: 6.3 6.9 7,415 8,367 1,187 1,217 Louisiana ........: 0.4 0.4 461 471 1,048 1,113 Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Mississippi ......: 0.6 0.7 677 751 1,071 1,036 : Missouri .........: 6.2 20.6 7,508 29,346 1,218 1,430 Montana ..........: 2.4 2.3 3,098 2,964 1,271 1,277 Nebraska .........: 524.1 491.8 783,506 759,022 1,496 1,545 Nevada ...........: (D) 0.1 (D) 107 (D) 1,140 New England 1/ ...: 2.7 2.3 3,412 2,886 1,271 1,262 New Jersey .......: 4.7 5.0 5,457 5,827 1,172 1,168 New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.6 544 594 1,063 1,060 New York .........: 3.0 3.0 3,855 3,826 1,271 1,294 North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Dakota .....: 1.0 0.9 1,269 1,174 1,315 1,326 : Ohio .............: 6.5 6.5 8,738 8,619 1,341 1,336 Oklahoma .........: 7.6 8.5 9,115 10,440 1,208 1,236 Oregon ...........: 1.2 1.0 1,517 1,250 1,230 1,270 Pennsylvania .....: 90.6 88.1 123,223 119,264 1,365 1,358 South Carolina ...: 22.6 15.9 31,983 21,735 1,424 1,379 South Dakota .....: 33.6 (D) 52,086 (D) 1,555 (D) Tennessee ........: 3.5 3.1 3,516 3,100 1,028 1,040 Texas ............: 431.2 379.0 586,500 542,997 1,363 1,437 Utah .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Virginia .........: 1.5 1.5 1,600 1,691 1,045 1,141 : Washington .......: 79.3 87.3 114,112 130,669 1,442 1,501 West Virginia ....: 1.1 0.8 1,261 1,006 1,195 1,306 Wisconsin ........: 95.0 97.4 134,101 137,478 1,419 1,419 Wyoming ..........: 1.0 1.0 1,295 1,270 1,253 1,270 : United States ....: 2,483.7 2,336.2 3,534,855 3,429,821 1,426 1,471 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: March 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 51 23 409 365 Georgia ..........: 0.1 (D) 46 (D) 498 (D) Hawaii ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Idaho ............: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) Illinois .........: 0.2 0.2 92 78 424 400 Indiana ..........: (D) 0.4 (D) 157 (D) 412 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 21 24 233 274 New Jersey .......: 1.4 1.3 533 509 386 386 New Mexico .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New York .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Carolina ...: 0.1 (Y) 31 (X) 359 (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 .....: 4.7 (D) 1,964 (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 ............: 0.2 0.1 90 54 485 482 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 ....: 10.9 8.3 3,539 2,977 327 359 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: March 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 ..........: 1.8 1.9 713 798 397 425 Alaska ...........: 0.1 0.1 23 14 270 280 Arizona ..........: 0.1 0.2 31 41 286 270 Arkansas .........: 0.5 0.5 132 148 276 286 California .......: 76.1 80.5 17,681 18,726 233 233 Colorado .........: 2.7 1.9 400 303 149 163 Delaware-Maryland : 1.7 1.6 478 473 286 303 Florida ..........: 4.0 3.3 560 423 139 128 Georgia ..........: 5.3 5.0 1,396 1,369 263 274 Hawaii ...........: 0.2 0.2 54 50 285 265 : Idaho ............: 11.7 14.2 3,000 3,674 256 258 Illinois .........: 964.7 1,014.3 277,734 290,452 288 286 Indiana ..........: 736.0 784.5 210,108 226,192 286 288 Iowa .............: 3,147.5 3,404.9 921,052 993,197 293 292 Kansas ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Kentucky .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Louisiana ........: 0.2 0.4 58 94 268 260 Michigan .........: 425.3 442.1 124,282 130,650 292 296 Minnesota ........: 961.3 994.7 270,459 282,698 281 284 Mississippi ......: 3.5 3.5 640 678 184 194 : Missouri .........: 728.5 762.9 212,849 223,187 292 293 Montana ..........: 1.4 1.2 396 343 288 283 Nebraska .........: 640.0 731.7 186,521 213,819 291 292 Nevada ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New England 1/ ...: 1.9 1.9 531 521 279 282 New Jersey .......: 9.1 11.1 925 1,120 101 100 New Mexico .......: 0.2 0.2 54 44 263 245 New York .........: 1.7 1.8 432 438 253 248 North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Dakota .....: 0.3 0.3 81 80 280 303 : Ohio .............: 89.3 94.3 26,705 28,272 299 300 Oklahoma .........: 451.9 445.9 132,128 134,091 292 301 Oregon ...........: 5.3 5.8 1,368 1,499 257 259 Pennsylvania .....: 267.0 (D) 74,119 (D) 278 (D) South Carolina ...: 1.6 1.8 415 451 255 255 South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Tennessee ........: 69.3 86.1 31,677 39,262 458 456 Texas ............: 22.8 23.0 4,518 4,731 198 206 Utah .............: 1.7 2.3 393 386 233 169 Virginia .........: 1.1 1.1 304 352 289 315 : Washington .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) West Virginia ....: 0.5 0.5 162 113 307 230 Wisconsin ........: 65.5 70.8 27,624 30,907 422 437 Wyoming ..........: 0.2 0.2 63 57 264 272 : United States ....: 10,414.5 11,013.9 3,025,541 3,217,526 291 292 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ New England includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: March 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) 82 Alaska ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Arizona ..........: 0.7 (D) 76 (D) 108 (D) Arkansas .........: 0.1 0.1 9 17 106 114 California .......: 21.9 20.7 3,474 3,059 159 148 Colorado .........: 42.7 40.5 7,566 6,835 177 169 Delaware-Maryland : 1.8 1.7 174 166 97 100 Florida ..........: 3.8 2.7 188 137 49 51 Georgia ..........: 3.5 3.9 199 253 57 66 Hawaii ...........: 0.2 0.1 25 10 137 129 : Idaho ............: 0.2 0.2 32 26 166 155 Illinois .........: 6.3 6.3 543 504 87 80 Indiana ..........: 6.0 5.7 613 585 103 103 Iowa .............: 0.2 0.1 19 13 117 104 Kansas ...........: 0.3 0.3 31 27 103 97 Kentucky .........: 0.9 0.9 94 98 109 115 Louisiana ........: 1.0 1.0 62 55 61 58 Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: 0.6 0.8 48 58 75 77 Mississippi ......: 0.3 0.2 26 17 76 79 : Missouri .........: 2.0 1.9 151 138 76 74 Montana ..........: 0.3 0.3 36 44 134 134 Nebraska .........: 0.1 0.1 6 10 116 107 Nevada ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New England 1/ ...: 5.0 4.0 499 394 99 99 New Jersey .......: 15.5 18.1 1,266 1,630 81 90 New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.7 72 96 145 147 New York .........: 6.4 7.4 660 742 103 101 North Carolina ...: 5.4 6.7 330 425 61 64 North Dakota .....: (Y) 0.1 (X) 8 (X) 135 : Ohio .............: 5.9 5.0 904 764 154 154 Oklahoma .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Oregon ...........: 4.6 5.6 787 887 170 160 Pennsylvania .....: 11.9 11.9 1,259 1,248 106 105 South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) South Dakota .....: 0.1 0.2 16 17 119 113 Tennessee ........: (D) 1.4 (D) 122 (D) 89 Texas ............: 24.7 20.6 2,663 1,579 108 77 Utah .............: 1.2 1.3 168 170 137 135 Virginia .........: 1.4 0.9 101 66 73 74 : Washington .......: 0.9 0.8 119 114 133 136 West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Wisconsin ........: 0.7 0.9 75 74 104 85 Wyoming ..........: 0.1 0.1 12 13 139 148 : United States ....: 199.4 197.2 25,268 23,773 127 121 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 March : : : : January to March Class : March : February : March :-----------------------: March : February : March :----------------------- : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------------------- 1,000 head -------------------- ----------------- percent of total ---------------- : Cattle : Steers ...........: 1,140.0 1,034.2 1,124.1 3,590.6 3,296.1 46.8 48.6 49.1 48.6 48.8 Heifers ..........: 835.2 675.0 726.0 2,403.0 2,142.2 34.3 31.7 31.7 32.5 31.7 All cows .........: 423.7 392.1 408.4 1,294.6 1,225.1 17.4 18.4 17.8 17.5 18.1 Dairy cows .......: 217.9 237.3 239.2 682.8 723.3 8.9 11.1 10.4 9.2 10.7 Other cows .......: 205.8 154.8 169.3 611.8 501.8 8.4 7.3 7.4 8.3 7.4 Bulls ............: 37.2 27.4 32.8 96.5 90.6 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.3 : Total ............: 2,436.2 2,128.8 2,291.2 7,384.8 6,753.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Calves and : vealers ...... : 10.3 7.7 7.9 33.9 23.4 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Hogs : Barrows and : gilts ..........: 10,093.4 9,802.6 10,692.7 31,074.8 31,336.6 97.4 97.5 97.5 97.4 97.5 Sows .............: 252.4 228.5 256.3 764.7 729.6 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 Boars ............: 22.0 18.1 21.1 66.8 60.5 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 : Total ............: 10,367.9 10,049.2 10,970.2 31,906.2 32,126.7 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Sheep : Mature : sheep ..........: 10.4 11.4 11.0 28.6 32.8 5.9 7.2 6.1 6.0 6.7 Lambs and : yearlings ......: 165.8 146.3 167.5 446.6 454.8 94.1 92.8 93.9 94.0 93.3 : Total ............: 176.2 157.7 178.5 475.2 487.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : January to March Class : March : February : March :----------------------- : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : pounds : Cattle ............... : 872 896 902 874 898 Steers 1/ ...............: 947 982 984 950 984 Heifers 1/ ..............: 871 892 900 870 895 All cows 1/ .............: 665 669 677 668 668 Bulls 1/ ................: 920 928 927 906 927 : Calves and vealers ... : 189 199 209 185 201 : Hogs ................. : 217 218 218 217 219 Barrows and gilts 2/ ....: 215 216 216 215 217 Sows 2/ .................: 299 297 300 296 299 Boars 2/ ................: 223 227 227 221 226 : Sheep ................ : 65 62 62 64 62 Mature sheep 3/ .........: 66 63 64 66 64 Lambs and yearlings 3/ ..: 65 62 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: March 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 ............: 2.1 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.1 2 ............: 7.9 2.3 (D) 2.9 (D) (D) (D) 1.9 3 ............: 89.6 36.4 (D) 43.9 35.4 8.5 (D) (D) 4 ............: 52.8 6.1 2.2 39.2 14.0 25.2 5.3 0.2 5 ............: 245.5 116.2 30.0 (D) 60.8 (D) (D) (D) 6 ............: 381.0 177.7 129.2 65.4 31.2 34.2 8.6 (D) 7 ............:1,048.2 572.9 416.3 (D) (D) 41.9 (D) (Y) 8 ............: 188.6 96.2 76.9 (D) (D) (D) (D) (Y) 9 ............: 133.4 58.9 19.3 53.9 47.6 6.3 1.2 (D) 10 ...........: 142.2 56.6 45.5 38.7 32.3 6.4 1.4 (Y) : United States :2,291.2 1,124.1 726.0 408.4 239.2 169.3 32.8 7.9 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and : :and gilts: Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 1.7 1.6 (Y) (Y) 3.9 0.2 3.8 2 ............: 12.9 12.8 (Y) (Y) 24.9 3.2 21.8 3 ............: (D) (D) 0.2 (D) 15.8 0.8 15.0 4 ............: (D) (D) 86.1 (D) 14.2 1.1 13.1 5 ............: 3,382.7 3,283.6 93.4 5.7 33.1 1.8 31.3 6 ............: 464.2 464.1 0.1 0.1 17.0 0.9 16.0 7 ............: 4,917.4 4,829.3 76.3 11.8 2.0 0.1 1.9 8 ............: (D) (D) 0.1 (D) 41.6 (D) (D) 9 ............: 77.4 77.3 0.1 0.1 20.0 (D) (D) 10 ...........: 21.8 21.8 (Y) (Y) 5.9 0.1 5.8 : United States :10,970.2 10,692.7 256.3 21.1 178.5 11.0 167.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 March 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 ............: 6.3 2.4 1.6 1.6 1.3 0.4 0.7 0.2 2 ............: 22.3 6.6 (D) 8.3 (D) (D) (D) 5.5 3 ............: 253.1 100.2 (D) 127.6 102.7 24.9 (D) (D) 4 ............: 159.9 17.0 6.3 121.9 43.4 78.5 14.7 0.6 5 ............: 704.7 334.9 87.9 (D) 181.8 (D) (D) (D) 6 ............:1,109.1 482.9 393.9 207.2 97.2 110.0 25.1 (D) 7 ............:3,005.7 1,650.4 1,182.3 (D) (D) 122.8 (D) 0.2 8 ............: 690.8 370.5 280.7 (D) (D) (D) (D) (Y) 9 ............: 392.3 161.7 53.7 174.0 151.9 22.2 3.0 (D) 10 ...........: 409.6 169.5 117.9 118.4 94.9 23.5 3.8 0.1 : United States :6,753.9 3,296.1 2,142.2 1,225.1 723.3 501.8 90.6 23.4 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and : :and gilts : Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 4.9 4.8 (Y) (Y) 10.2 0.6 9.7 2 ............: 34.0 33.9 0.1 (Y) 67.0 9.0 58.0 3 ............: (D) (D) 0.5 (D) 41.6 2.5 39.1 4 ............: (D) (D) 244.3 (D) 39.0 2.7 36.2 5 ............: 9,937.1 9,653.5 266.8 16.8 88.7 4.7 84.0 6 ............: 1,328.9 1,328.4 0.2 0.3 47.2 4.0 43.2 7 ............: 14,468.8 14,218.0 217.2 33.6 5.4 0.3 5.0 8 ............: (D) (D) 0.2 (D) 117.5 (D) (D) 9 ............: 230.7 230.4 0.1 0.1 56.0 (D) (D) 10 ...........: 61.1 61.1 (Y) (Y) 15.1 0.3 14.8 : United States : 32,126.7 31,336.6 729.6 60.5 487.6 32.8 454.8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 March Species : March : February : March :------------------------ : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent : Cattle .......: 98.1 98.1 98.1 98.1 98.1 Calves .......: 94.2 93.0 94.3 94.8 93.5 Hogs .........: 99.6 99.6 99.6 99.6 99.6 Sheep ........: 88.4 89.4 90.5 87.3 89.3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 1,125 livestock slaughter plants in the United States operating under Federal Inspection and about 1,800 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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