Higher US red meat production in 2006

US - Prolonged drought conditions took their toll on the US cow herd during 2006, with cow slaughter increasing 11.7% to 5.3 million head.
calendar icon 31 January 2007
clock icon 1 minute read

All other cattle categories displayed slower growth, with steer slaughter up 4% to 17.4 million head and bulls up 2.6% to 511,000 head. Interestingly, heifer slaughter rose just 0.6% to 9.8 million head, suggesting that producers have been attempting to retain heifers amid the dry conditions.

During 2006, commercial red meat production in the US rose 4% on the previous year to 21.5 million tonnes. Beef led the way, with production 6% higher, totalling 11.8 million tonnes. Pork production rose 2% to 9.5 million tonnes. Sheepmeat defied this trend, falling 1% to 83,870 tonnes.

TheCattleSite News Desk

© 2000 - 2024 - Global Ag Media. All Rights Reserved | No part of this site may be reproduced without permission.