Figure 1 shows weekly cattle slaughter by federally inspected plants since 2020. From 2020 to 2024, cattle slaughter largely remained between 600,000 and 700,000 head per week, but it has dipped to ...

Packer margins rebound from $350 losses as choice cutout jumps $10.70 while slaughter remains tight despite available capacity nationwide.

The latest USDA data indicates lower cattle slaughter in 2025 and reduced meat production. The USDA released its monthly Livestock Slaughter report Dec. 1. “Year-to-date through the end of October, ...

USDA’s semi-annual cattle inventory report confirmed the smallest herd in 75 years. This comes as the cattle industry is still healing from consecutive years of drought, but the surprise is that ...