Beef By-Products Bring Value

By-product values for cattle have increased dramatically in the past few months, according to Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel. In the past 13 months, steer hide and offal values have risen from $6.93/cwt. on a live fed steer basis in July 2020 to an August 2021 value of $14.99/cwt., an increase of 116%.   

Peel said the largest component of by-product values is the hides. However, in recent years, hides have dropped from roughly half of total by-product values to about 30% of the total. The current value sits at 31.7%. He said this is because numerous other by-product values likewise have increased sharply in the past year. 

Inedible tallow values are up 177% year over year, while edible tallow values have increased 85%. Combined, tallow represents 25.4% of August total by-product values. Tongue prices were up 111% year over year in August and account for 19.5% of total by-product values.  The liver, heart, cheeks, tripe and meat scraps combine to account for an additional 14.6% of the total August by-product value. Peel said cheek, meat scrap and tripe values are all up 30% to 90% since last year.