Record High Pork Production for September

Oct 23, 2015

September 2014 contained 22 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays.

Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.14 billion pounds in September, up 5 percent from the 3.96 billion pounds produced in September 2014.

Beef production, at 2.09 billion pounds, was 1 percent above the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.47 million head, down 2 percent from September 2014. The average live weight was up 39 pounds from the previous year, at 1,383 pounds.

Veal production totaled 6.8 million pounds, 5 percent below September a year ago. Calf slaughter totaled 37,200 head, down 12 percent from September 2014. The average live weight was up 22 pounds from last year, at 312 pounds.

Pork production totaled 2.04 billion pounds, up 9 percent from the previous year. Hog slaughter totaled 9.73 million head, up 10 percent from September 2014. The average live weight was down 3 pounds from the previous year, at 280 pounds.

Lamb and mutton production, at 12.2 million pounds, was down slightly from September 2014. Sheep slaughter totaled 190,800 head, slightly below last year. The average live weight was 128 pounds, unchanged from September a year ago.

January to September 2015 commercial red meat production was 35.8 billion pounds, up 2 percent from 2014. Accumulated beef production was down 4 percent from last year, veal was down 16 percent, pork was up 8 percent from last year, and lamb and mutton production was down 4 percent.

Source: USDA

Video: Season 6, Episode 7: Takeaways from the Second International Conference on Pig Livability

This year’s conference fostered open, engaging conversations around current research in the swine industry, bringing together hundreds of attendees from 31 states and six countries. Two leaders who helped organize the event joined today’s episode: Dr. Joel DeRouchey, professor and swine extension specialist in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry at Kansas State University, and Dr. Edison Magalhaes, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Iowa State University. They share key takeaways from the conference, including the importance of integrating data when evaluating whole-herd livability, building a culture of care among employees and adopting new technologies. Above all, the discussion reinforces that this industry remains, at its core, a people business.