Red Meat And Pork Production
Reached Record Highs In 1998

WASHINGTON —(USDA)— Red meat production in commercial plants and on farms in the United States totaled 45.3 billion pounds in 1998, up four percent from both the previous year's production and the record high set in 1995. Red meat includes beef, veal, pork, and lamb and mutton.

Red meat production in commercial plants totaled 45.1 billion pounds.

Beef production was up one percent from a year ago at 25.8 billion pounds. Veal production was down 22 percent at 261 million pounds and down nine percent from the previous record low set in 1993. Pork production rose 10 percent to 19 billion pounds, eclipsing the previous record high set in 1995 by seven percent. Lamb and mutton production was down three percent from the record low set in 1997 at 252 million pounds.

Commercial cattle slaughter during 1998 was down two percent at 35.5 million head, with federal inspection comprising 98.1 percent of the total. The average liveweight was up 30 pounds at 1203 pounds. Steers comprised 49.2 percent of the total federally inspected slaughter, heifers 32.3 percent, dairy cows 7.5 percent, other cows 9.3

percent, and bulls 1.7 percent.

Commercial calf slaughter was down seven percent at 1.46 million head, with 97.6 percent under federal inspection. The average liveweight was down 53 pounds at 285 pounds.

Commercial hog slaughter was up 10 percent at 101 million head, with 98.3 percent of the hogs slaughtered under federal inspection. The average liveweight was unchanged from a year earlier at 256 pounds. Barrows and gilts comprised 96 percent of total federally

inspected slaughter.

Commercial sheep and lamb slaughter was down three percent at 3.8 million head, with 96.5 percent under federal inspection. The average liveweight fell one pound from 1997 to 132 pounds.

There were 930 slaughtering plants under federal inspection in 1998, compared with 966 the previous year. Of these, 795 slaughtered at least one head of cattle with 14 slaughtering over 50 percent of the total cattle killed. There were 757 plants that slaughtered hogs, with 11 accounting for 48 percent of the total. Likewise, 10 of the 339 plants that slaughtered calves accounted for 55 percent of the total and two of the 556 plants that slaughtered sheep or lambs in 1998 comprised 40 percent of the total head.