Livestock Slaughter ISSN: 0499-0544 Released October 22, 2026, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Commercial Red Meat Production Down 4 Percent from Last Year September 2025 contained 22 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays. September 2026 contained 22 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays. Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.32 billion pounds in September, down 4 percent from the 4.51 billion pounds produced in September 2025. Beef production, at 2.04 billion pounds, was 6 percent below the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.30 million head, down 7 percent from September 2025. The average live weight was up 14 pounds from the previous year, at 1,447 pounds. Veal production totaled 1.7 million pounds, 13 percent below September a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 7,900 head, down 15 percent from September 2025. The average live weight was up 8 pounds from last year, at 359 pounds. Pork production totaled 2.27 billion pounds, down 3 percent from the previous year. Hog slaughter totaled 10.6 million head, down 3 percent from September 2025. The average live weight was up 1 pound from the previous year, at 287 pounds. Lamb and mutton production, at 9.8 million pounds, was down 5 percent from September 2025. Sheep slaughter totaled 176,000 head, 5 percent below last year. The average live weight was 109 pounds, unchanged from September a year ago. January to September 2026 commercial red meat production was 38.9 billion pounds, down 2 percent from 2025. Accumulated beef production was down 5 percent from last year, veal was down 23 percent, pork was up slightly from last year, and lamb and mutton production was down 9 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: September 2025 and 2026.......... 7 Commercial Calf Slaughter - States and United States: September 2025 and 2026............ 8 Commercial Hog Slaughter - States and United States: September 2025 and 2026............. 9 Commercial Sheep and Lamb Slaughter - States and United States: September 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: September 2026................ 12 Federally Inspected Slaughter - Regions and United States: January to September 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] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :September 2026 as % of: January to September :September : August :September :---------------------------------------------------- Type : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 :September : August : : :2026 as % : : : : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- million pounds ------ --- percent -- million pounds percent : Beef .............: 2,157.9 1,981.6 2,038.3 94 103 19,355.5 18,406.7 95 Veal .............: 1.9 1.6 1.7 87 105 19.0 14.5 77 Pork .............: 2,339.2 2,102.3 2,272.9 97 108 20,276.9 20,371.5 100 Lamb and mutton ..: 10.3 9.7 9.8 95 101 101.6 92.6 91 : Total red meat ...: 4,509.3 4,095.2 4,322.7 96 106 39,753.0 38,885.4 98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Federally Inspected Red Meat Production - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :September 2026 as % of: January to September :September : August :September :---------------------------------------------------- Type : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 :September : August : : :2026 as % : : : : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- million pounds ------ --- percent -- million pounds percent : Beef .............: 2,122.7 1,953.3 2,004.7 94 103 19,063.3 18,127.8 95 Veal .............: 1.8 1.5 1.6 87 105 18.0 13.6 76 Pork .............: 2,328.6 2,091.5 2,263.6 97 108 20,193.8 20,294.1 100 Lamb and mutton ..: 9.0 8.4 8.6 96 102 90.0 82.9 92 : Total red meat ...: 4,462.1 4,054.8 4,278.5 96 106 39,365.1 38,518.4 98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Livestock Slaughter and Average Live Weight - United States [Totals, accumulated totals, and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : September : January to September : September : August : September : 2026 as % :-------------------------------------------- Species : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : of 2025 : : : 2026 as % : : : : : 2025 : 2026 : of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent percent : Cattle : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 2,416.6 2,203.3 2,256.7 93 21,897.1 20,317.3 93 Other ................1,000: 48.9 39.1 46.2 95 410.1 384.7 94 Commercial ...........1,000: 2,465.5 2,242.3 2,302.9 93 22,307.2 20,702.0 93 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 1,437 1,444 1,451 101 1,427 1,460 102 Other ...............pounds: 1,250 1,251 1,252 100 1,239 1,258 102 Commercial ..........pounds: 1,433 1,441 1,447 101 1,424 1,456 102 : Calves : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 8.8 6.9 7.5 85 90.1 64.2 71 Other ................1,000: 0.5 0.4 0.4 83 4.8 4.2 87 Commercial ...........1,000: 9.3 7.3 7.9 85 94.9 68.3 72 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 348 370 356 102 339 360 106 Other ...............pounds: 401 427 416 104 401 419 104 Commercial ..........pounds: 351 373 359 102 342 364 106 : Hogs : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 10,925.3 9,864.3 10,591.2 97 94,156.3 93,722.7 100 Other ................1,000: 54.2 56.1 48.6 90 435.2 401.1 92 Commercial ...........1,000: 10,979.4 9,920.3 10,639.8 97 94,591.5 94,123.9 100 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 286 284 287 100 288 290 101 Other ...............pounds: 268 262 264 98 262 264 101 Commercial ..........pounds: 286 284 287 100 288 290 101 : Sheep and lambs : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 159.2 149.9 152.5 96 1,445.1 1,400.3 97 Other ................1,000: 25.6 24.4 23.4 92 230.7 191.3 83 Commercial ...........1,000: 184.8 174.3 176.0 95 1,675.8 1,591.6 95 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 111 110 111 100 123 116 95 Other ...............pounds: 98 97 97 98 100 100 100 Commercial ..........pounds: 109 109 109 100 119 114 96 : Goats : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 46.0 44.8 46.5 101 388.5 383.9 99 Other ................1,000: 9.3 9.3 10.2 110 81.1 80.1 99 Commercial ...........1,000: 55.3 54.1 56.7 103 469.6 464.0 99 Average live weight : Federally inspected .pounds: 64 65 64 99 65 64 99 Other ...............pounds: 82 83 81 99 82 82 100 Commercial ..........pounds: 67 68 67 99 68 67 99 : Bison : Number of head : Federally inspected ..1,000: 4.9 4.4 4.1 84 47.0 41.0 87 Other ................1,000: 0.3 0.2 0.2 83 2.4 2.4 99 Commercial ...........1,000: 5.1 4.5 4.3 84 49.4 43.4 88 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commercial Red Meat Production - States and United States [Includes total beef, veal, pork, lamb, and mutton. Totals and percentages based on unrounded data] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : September : August : September :September 2026 as : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : % of 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------- million pounds ---------- percent : Alabama ...............: 1.1 1.3 1.5 133 Alaska ................: 0.1 (Y) (Y) (X) Arizona ...............: 38.2 36.8 38.0 100 Arkansas ..............: 0.5 0.4 0.5 108 California ............: 79.8 74.5 79.7 100 Colorado ..............: 179.4 109.5 139.1 78 Delaware-Maryland .....: 2.0 2.1 2.1 107 Florida ...............: 4.9 4.7 4.0 82 Georgia ...............: 8.9 6.2 7.5 85 Hawaii ................: 0.7 0.5 0.6 78 : Idaho .................: 48.2 43.8 47.7 99 Illinois ..............: 276.0 229.5 205.7 75 Indiana ...............: 173.1 164.0 172.5 100 Iowa ..................: 750.1 691.1 753.6 100 Kansas ................: 450.3 485.2 477.4 106 Kentucky ..............: 56.2 46.4 49.1 87 Louisiana .............: 0.3 0.3 0.4 108 Michigan ..............: 134.2 125.2 131.4 98 Minnesota .............: 242.5 204.8 233.2 96 Mississippi ...........: 0.8 0.7 0.8 100 : Missouri ..............: 185.2 174.6 186.8 101 Montana ...............: 2.3 1.8 3.2 138 Nebraska ..............: 642.1 597.3 616.7 96 Nevada ................: 0.1 0.1 0.1 96 New England 1/ ........: 2.9 2.2 2.5 86 New Jersey ............: 4.5 4.5 4.7 103 New Mexico ............: 0.5 0.4 0.4 81 New York ..............: 2.8 2.6 3.0 107 North Carolina ........: 224.4 171.4 192.3 86 North Dakota ..........: 0.7 0.6 0.8 117 : Ohio ..................: 26.9 25.8 27.1 101 Oklahoma ..............: 96.7 95.6 102.1 106 Oregon ................: 2.5 2.2 2.4 97 Pennsylvania ..........: 127.4 95.8 93.0 73 South Carolina ........: 13.0 11.6 13.0 100 South Dakota ..........: 119.1 111.5 125.3 105 Tennessee .............: 27.5 22.0 26.5 97 Texas .................: 363.5 329.5 335.0 92 Utah ..................: 51.2 47.2 52.0 102 Virginia ..............: 1.1 1.0 1.3 114 : Washington ............: 76.8 77.5 82.6 108 West Virginia .........: 1.0 0.8 1.1 101 Wisconsin .............: 88.7 90.7 105.2 119 Wyoming ...............: 0.9 0.9 0.8 91 : United States .........: 4,509.3 4,095.2 4,322.7 96 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: September 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 1.2 947 1,332 1,133 1,131 Alaska ...........: 0.1 (Y) 83 (X) 1,173 (X) Arizona ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Arkansas .........: 0.7 0.7 756 809 1,092 1,110 California .......: 81.8 85.5 115,052 114,318 1,417 1,347 Colorado .........: 189.7 143.7 282,642 216,294 1,492 1,507 Delaware-Maryland : 1.9 2.1 2,634 2,888 1,384 1,359 Florida ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Georgia ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Hawaii ...........: 1.0 0.7 1,185 880 1,209 1,226 : Idaho ............: 58.5 57.5 80,015 78,448 1,377 1,374 Illinois .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Indiana ..........: 10.2 10.6 12,807 13,654 1,266 1,296 Iowa .............: 47.0 50.1 66,786 72,717 1,422 1,453 Kansas ...........: 472.0 496.8 690,156 735,693 1,462 1,481 Kentucky .........: 6.8 6.6 8,029 7,967 1,195 1,211 Louisiana ........: 0.5 0.5 446 526 983 1,090 Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Mississippi ......: 0.5 0.6 508 567 1,024 997 : Missouri .........: 18.4 24.6 23,923 34,252 1,307 1,401 Montana ..........: 2.5 3.6 3,092 4,475 1,242 1,251 Nebraska .........: 525.5 492.0 783,285 743,174 1,492 1,512 Nevada ...........: (D) 0.1 (D) 147 (D) 1,107 New England 1/ ...: 3.0 2.8 3,718 3,498 1,229 1,266 New Jersey .......: 4.6 4.9 5,343 5,709 1,171 1,175 New Mexico .......: 0.5 0.5 608 488 1,110 1,046 New York .........: 2.9 3.0 3,513 3,803 1,219 1,280 North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Dakota .....: 0.9 1.0 1,114 1,296 1,282 1,312 : Ohio .............: 7.0 6.1 9,395 8,143 1,335 1,338 Oklahoma .........: 7.2 6.8 8,835 8,355 1,249 1,226 Oregon ...........: 1.4 1.4 1,750 1,706 1,242 1,244 Pennsylvania .....: 85.3 47.0 113,269 57,478 1,332 1,228 South Carolina ...: 18.6 19.5 25,398 25,358 1,371 1,308 South Dakota .....: 29.1 (D) 45,707 (D) 1,571 (D) Tennessee ........: 3.2 2.6 3,228 2,860 1,022 1,106 Texas ............: 429.7 383.6 589,883 540,148 1,376 1,412 Utah .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Virginia .........: 1.3 1.5 1,435 1,677 1,114 1,135 : Washington .......: 83.3 88.7 122,033 131,188 1,469 1,482 West Virginia ....: 1.2 1.1 1,360 1,460 1,181 1,273 Wisconsin ........: 93.7 112.7 129,380 157,430 1,389 1,403 Wyoming ..........: 1.1 1.0 1,340 1,265 1,237 1,251 : United States ....: 2,465.5 2,302.9 3,526,227 3,326,448 1,433 1,447 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 Calf Slaughter - States and United States: September 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 (Y) 49 (X) 379 (X) Georgia ..........: 0.1 (D) 30 (D) 516 (D) Hawaii ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Idaho ............: (D) (Y) (D) (X) (D) (X) Illinois .........: 0.2 0.2 65 91 383 424 Indiana ..........: (D) 0.4 (D) 160 (D) 420 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 22 30 237 220 New Jersey .......: 1.8 1.2 700 480 388 390 New Mexico .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New York .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Carolina ...: 0.1 0.1 27 30 352 409 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 .....: 3.7 (D) 1,552 (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 51 52 480 479 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 ....: 9.3 7.9 3,253 2,839 351 359 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: September 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 ..........: 1.9 2.3 817 1,020 433 447 Alaska ...........: 0.1 (Y) 19 (X) 282 (X) Arizona ..........: 0.1 0.1 28 35 263 241 Arkansas .........: 0.3 0.4 93 98 267 275 California .......: 82.9 83.1 19,466 20,023 235 241 Colorado .........: 2.9 2.7 514 473 179 173 Delaware-Maryland : 1.7 1.7 489 467 287 278 Florida ..........: 5.5 5.3 583 596 105 113 Georgia ..........: 5.2 5.0 1,419 1,359 271 271 Hawaii ...........: 0.1 0.1 39 38 267 276 : Idaho ............: 12.8 13.9 3,284 3,672 256 265 Illinois .........: 1,015.1 940.4 285,110 263,792 281 281 Indiana ..........: 770.8 771.8 220,670 219,195 286 284 Iowa .............: 3,321.5 3,315.1 954,941 953,080 288 288 Kansas ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Kentucky .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Louisiana ........: 0.2 0.2 53 47 242 255 Michigan .........: 424.5 432.5 123,536 123,571 291 286 Minnesota ........: 1,042.5 984.8 294,119 280,152 282 284 Mississippi ......: 3.7 3.5 671 618 184 179 : Missouri .........: 795.2 774.5 231,070 221,457 291 286 Montana ..........: 2.0 2.2 557 602 274 274 Nebraska .........: 702.5 700.1 202,094 200,554 288 286 Nevada ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New England 1/ ...: 2.8 2.1 752 542 266 260 New Jersey .......: 8.4 9.1 955 1,060 114 117 New Mexico .......: 0.2 0.2 62 57 256 244 New York .........: 2.1 2.4 525 624 248 255 North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Dakota .....: 0.2 0.3 59 75 281 279 : Ohio .............: 95.4 101.1 28,191 29,733 296 294 Oklahoma .........: 444.7 456.2 121,231 128,128 273 281 Oregon ...........: 5.6 6.1 1,425 1,550 256 254 Pennsylvania .....: 288.4 (D) 79,253 (D) 275 (D) South Carolina ...: 1.7 1.7 417 420 251 250 South Dakota .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Tennessee ........: 83.7 78.8 38,440 37,458 460 476 Texas ............: 26.5 23.1 4,987 4,367 188 189 Utah .............: 3.4 1.4 495 332 146 240 Virginia .........: 0.9 1.0 273 303 299 302 : Washington .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) West Virginia ....: 0.8 0.7 227 187 279 276 Wisconsin ........: 67.7 67.5 28,807 29,340 426 436 Wyoming ..........: 0.5 0.4 136 112 273 263 : United States ....: 10,979.4 10,639.8 3,140,790 3,048,496 286 287 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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: September 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 ..........: 0.1 0.1 7 10 87 83 Alaska ...........: (Y) (Y) (X) (X) (X) (X) Arizona ..........: 0.7 (D) 76 (D) 117 (D) Arkansas .........: 0.1 0.2 12 15 92 96 California .......: 17.5 19.5 2,323 2,499 133 128 Colorado .........: 29.4 31.6 4,245 4,544 144 144 Delaware-Maryland : 1.6 1.7 160 162 99 97 Florida ..........: 3.1 2.7 153 145 49 53 Georgia ..........: 2.9 3.1 201 224 68 72 Hawaii ...........: 0.1 0.1 17 6 132 126 : Idaho ............: 0.2 0.3 32 36 137 136 Illinois .........: 7.0 6.2 575 525 82 85 Indiana ..........: 6.2 5.6 646 543 105 97 Iowa .............: 0.3 0.2 31 24 124 100 Kansas ...........: 0.3 0.5 31 44 115 98 Kentucky .........: 0.8 0.7 83 75 108 110 Louisiana ........: 0.8 0.6 44 31 58 54 Michigan .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Minnesota ........: 0.8 0.9 68 73 86 79 Mississippi ......: 0.2 0.3 14 26 75 84 : Missouri .........: 1.8 1.6 133 125 73 76 Montana ..........: 0.4 0.6 57 68 132 120 Nebraska .........: 0.1 0.1 11 11 112 115 Nevada ...........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) New England 1/ ...: 4.7 3.2 463 298 99 94 New Jersey .......: 16.2 15.7 1,384 1,401 86 89 New Mexico .......: 0.7 0.6 88 79 127 134 New York .........: 7.1 7.3 729 723 103 100 North Carolina ...: 8.0 6.4 476 407 60 64 North Dakota .....: 0.1 0.1 7 6 139 118 : Ohio .............: 6.1 3.9 867 583 142 148 Oklahoma .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Oregon ...........: 5.4 3.9 748 522 137 135 Pennsylvania .....: 10.3 10.5 1,052 1,089 102 104 South Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) South Dakota .....: 0.3 0.2 44 24 147 107 Tennessee ........: (D) 1.2 (D) 110 (D) 89 Texas ............: 24.0 22.6 2,044 1,719 85 76 Utah .............: 1.2 1.1 163 148 132 133 Virginia .........: 1.0 0.9 72 67 74 75 : Washington .......: 1.2 1.2 162 157 132 135 West Virginia ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Wisconsin ........: 1.1 1.2 125 119 109 103 Wyoming ..........: 0.1 0.1 14 12 151 140 : United States ....: 184.8 176.0 20,162 19,186 109 109 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 September : : : : January to September Class :September : August :September :-----------------------:September : August :September :----------------------- : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------------------- 1,000 head -------------------- ----------------- percent of total ---------------- : Cattle : Steers ...........: 1,230.8 1,190.4 1,188.6 10,905.8 10,313.4 50.9 54.0 52.7 49.8 50.8 Heifers ..........: 729.1 611.7 631.3 6,965.0 6,168.2 30.2 27.8 28.0 31.8 30.4 All cows .........: 414.1 365.4 400.8 3,696.1 3,526.0 17.1 16.6 17.8 16.9 17.4 Dairy cows .......: 227.2 221.1 234.8 1,946.0 2,021.7 9.4 10.0 10.4 8.9 10.0 Other cows .......: 186.9 144.3 166.0 1,750.1 1,504.3 7.7 6.5 7.4 8.0 7.4 Bulls ............: 42.7 35.7 36.1 330.1 309.7 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 : Total ............: 2,416.6 2,203.3 2,256.7 21,897.1 20,317.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Calves and : vealers ...... : 8.8 6.9 7.5 90.1 64.2 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Hogs : Barrows and : gilts ..........: 10,663.3 9,630.3 10,338.4 91,726.6 91,406.2 97.6 97.6 97.6 97.4 97.5 Sows .............: 241.6 214.0 233.0 2,239.2 2,134.6 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.4 2.3 Boars ............: 20.3 19.9 19.8 190.5 181.9 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 : Total ............: 10,925.3 9,864.3 10,591.2 94,156.3 93,722.7 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 : Sheep : Mature : sheep ..........: 11.8 9.3 10.0 95.4 95.6 7.4 6.2 6.6 6.6 6.8 Lambs and : yearlings ......: 147.4 140.6 142.5 1,349.7 1,304.7 92.6 93.8 93.4 93.4 93.2 : Total ............: 159.2 149.9 152.5 1,445.1 1,400.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Federally Inspected Slaughter Average Dressed Weight by Class - United States [Data may not add to totals due to rounding] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : January to September Class :September : August :September :----------------------- : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : pounds : Cattle ............... : 880 888 890 872 894 Steers 1/ ...............: 963 967 978 946 976 Heifers 1/ ..............: 871 876 883 865 889 All cows 1/ .............: 646 645 636 662 658 Bulls 1/ ................: 909 931 928 920 938 : Calves and vealers ... : 205 218 209 201 213 : Hogs ................. : 213 212 214 215 217 Barrows and gilts 2/ ....: 211 210 212 212 215 Sows 2/ .................: 301 306 308 299 304 Boars 2/ ................: 234 226 233 227 231 : Sheep ................ : 57 56 57 62 59 Mature sheep 3/ .........: 63 64 65 65 64 Lambs and yearlings 3/ ..: 56 56 56 62 59 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: September 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 ............: 2.5 1.0 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.1 2 ............: 7.8 2.7 (D) 3.3 (D) (D) (D) 1.5 3 ............: 49.0 10.6 (D) 32.4 25.9 6.5 (D) (D) 4 ............: 54.1 6.0 2.4 41.5 16.0 25.6 4.2 0.1 5 ............: 199.4 95.0 12.2 (D) 62.2 (D) (D) (D) 6 ............: 385.5 171.3 131.9 74.2 35.3 38.9 8.1 (D) 7 ............:1,053.7 652.9 348.5 (D) (D) 34.7 (D) (Y) 8 ............: 226.3 139.6 73.7 (D) (D) (D) (D) (Y) 9 ............: 131.8 46.3 19.6 64.7 47.9 16.8 1.2 (D) 10 ...........: 146.8 63.1 39.5 41.4 31.7 9.7 2.8 (Y) : United States :2,256.7 1,188.6 631.3 400.8 234.8 166.0 36.1 7.5 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and : :and gilts: Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 1.9 1.9 (Y) (Y) 3.1 0.1 3.0 2 ............: 11.5 11.4 (Y) (Y) 22.5 2.4 20.1 3 ............: (D) (D) 0.2 (D) 14.0 1.6 12.3 4 ............: (D) (D) 81.1 (D) 13.0 0.9 12.1 5 ............: 3,276.5 3,184.4 85.1 7.0 27.5 1.4 26.1 6 ............: 476.5 476.3 0.1 0.1 15.2 1.2 14.0 7 ............: 4,799.4 4,723.8 66.5 9.1 1.9 0.1 1.8 8 ............: (D) (D) (Y) (D) 32.5 (D) (D) 9 ............: 80.3 80.3 (Y) (Y) 18.6 (D) (D) 10 ...........: 21.3 21.2 (Y) (Y) 4.2 0.1 4.1 : United States :10,591.2 10,338.4 233.0 19.8 152.5 10.0 142.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 September 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 ............: 19.2 7.3 4.5 5.6 3.7 1.9 1.9 0.8 2 ............: 65.2 21.2 (D) 25.1 (D) (D) (D) 13.6 3 ............: 706.2 272.1 (D) 355.1 277.8 77.2 (D) (D) 4 ............: 473.6 51.8 20.2 359.7 120.2 239.5 42.0 1.2 5 ............: 2,047.6 999.4 227.5 (D) 524.9 (D) (D) (D) 6 ............: 3,397.3 1,512.9 1,204.3 600.4 273.9 326.4 79.8 (D) 7 ............: 9,317.7 5,378.7 3,440.8 (D) (D) 340.5 (D) 0.4 8 ............: 1,891.0 1,075.7 693.6 (D) (D) (D) (D) (Y) 9 ............: 1,149.7 473.9 170.2 495.0 396.3 98.7 10.5 (D) 10 ...........: 1,249.5 520.6 358.2 352.6 278.0 74.5 18.2 0.3 : United States :20,317.3 10,313.4 6,168.2 3,526.0 2,021.7 1,504.3 309.7 64.2 :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hogs : Sheep :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : Total : Barrows : : : Total : Mature :Lambs and : :and gilts : Sows : Boars : : sheep :yearlings :---------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : 1 ............: 14.2 14.0 0.2 0.1 29.1 1.5 27.6 2 ............: 99.2 98.7 0.3 0.2 206.8 25.3 181.5 3 ............: (D) (D) 1.7 (D) 123.9 9.8 114.0 4 ............: (D) (D) 710.5 (D) 121.6 8.6 113.1 5 ............: 28,909.7 28,065.1 794.9 49.8 257.9 14.3 243.6 6 ............: 4,036.8 4,035.3 0.8 0.7 146.3 11.2 135.1 7 ............: 42,331.5 41,605.2 625.3 100.9 16.4 0.8 15.6 8 ............: (D) (D) 0.4 (D) 293.4 (D) (D) 9 ............: 704.1 703.5 0.3 0.2 162.4 (D) (D) 10 ...........: 181.4 181.2 0.2 0.1 42.5 1.0 41.5 : United States : 93,722.7 91,406.2 2,134.6 181.9 1,400.3 95.6 1,304.7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 September Species : September : August : September :------------------------ : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2025 : 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent : Cattle .......: 98.0 98.3 98.0 98.2 98.1 Calves .......: 94.5 94.6 94.7 95.0 93.9 Hogs .........: 99.5 99.4 99.5 99.5 99.6 Sheep ........: 86.1 86.0 86.7 86.2 88.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, Poultry, and Grain Market News, Actual Slaughter Under Federal Inspection, 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. USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service - Estimation Branch Contacts For more information about specific data items, please contact the Estimation Branch staff members below. You can also email inquiries to nass@usda.gov. Anthony Prillaman, Associate Deputy Administrator............................................................................... (202) 720-2127 Darin Jantzi, Section Chief..................................................................................................... (701) 412-5953 Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Eggs, Hogs and Pigs, Layers, Sheep and Goats Jeff Lemmons, Section Chief..................................................................................................... (202) 973-3272 Cattle, Cattle on Feed, Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses, Cold Storage Fleming Gibson, Section Chief (Acting).......................................................................................... (202) 236-2428 Catfish, Census of Aquaculture, Dairy Products, Livestock Slaughter, Poultry Slaughter, Trout, Turkey Hatchery, Turkey Raised Julie Weber, Section Chief...................................................................................................... (202) 317-0165 Cost of Pollination, Egg Products, Honey, Honey Bee Colonies, Milk Production 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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