World meat industry news

North America: On January 21, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its Livestock Slaughter report. According to the data, U.S. cattle slaughter during the final quarter of 2015 equaled 7.14 million head.

This was down slightly from the previous quarter and was down slightly from a year ago. During the fourth quarter of 2015, U.S. beef production totaled 6.03 billion pounds. This was a little more than the previous quarter and was 1.5 percent more than a year ago. The average live cattle weight at the end of December equaled 1,388 pounds, 21 pounds more than a year ago. During 2015, U.S. cattle slaughter totaled 28.20 million head, nearly unchanged from 2014. Total U.S. beef production during 2015 equaled 23.32 billion pounds, 3.8 percent lower than a year ago. During the fourth quarter, U.S. hog slaughter totaled 30.16 million head. This was 6.8 percent more than the previous quarter and was 6.1 percent more than a year ago. Fourth quarter pork production increased 8.5 percent over the previous quarter to 6.42 billion pounds. Also, this was 5.3 percent higher than a year ago. Live hog weights at the end of December averaged 285 pounds, two pounds less than a year ago. During 2015, U.S. hog slaughter equaled 114.23 million head, slightly higher than 2014. Pork production during 2015 was 5.3 percent more than 2014, totaling 24.27 billion pounds. During the final quarter of 2015, U.S. sheep and lamb slaughter totaled 511.1 thousand head, which was 4.5 percent above the previous quarter but was 3.0 percent below a year ago. Lamb and mutton production during the fourth quarter equaled 34.1 million pounds. This was 2.1 percent higher than the previous quarter but was 3.9 percent lower than a year ago. During 2015, U.S. total sheep and lamb slaughter equaled 1.99 million head, slightly lower than 2014. Total lamb and mutton production during 2015 was 5.9 percent lower than 2014, totaling 137.9 million pounds. U.S. total goat slaughter during the final quarter of 2015 equaled 114.4 thousand head, which was 1.5 percent less than the previous quarter and was 11.0 percent less than a year ago. Total goat slaughter during 2015 equaled 437.5 thousand head, a little below 2014. The complete monthly report can be found on the NASS website athttps://www.nass.usda.gov/.

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