Markets
annually to determine the publishable data. Iowa
cattle slaughter data was last released in 2003. in both the public and private sectors use this
information in economic analysis and research.
Iowa is included in Region 7, with Kansas,
Missouri and Nebraska. Region 7 accounts for
44.6% of the total U.S. cattle slaughter. Just
over 53% of the steer and heifer slaughter
occurs in these four states, with 21.1% of the
beef cow slaughter, 2.1% of the dairy cow
slaughter and 21.3% of the bull slaughter. The
next largest regions for cattle slaughter are
Region 6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX) with 17.9%, Region
8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY) with 11.0%, and
Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) with 10.2%. USDA considers survey data, previous inventory
estimates, slaughter, exports and imports when
setting an initial livestock inventory estimate
— such as the Cattle, Hogs and Pigs report. In
subsequent periods, USDA revises previous
estimates to improve period-to-period and item-
to-item relationships. To make such revisions, USDA
factors in data received after original estimates
are made. If USDA makes revisions, it’s often the
actual slaughter data that drive the revisions.
How USDA compiles slaughter data
USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service compiles
and publishes official slaughter data. Slaughter
estimates provide USDA and the livestock
industry with basic data to project future meat
supplies and producer prices. Ag economists
Federal law requires packing plants to provide
slaughter data. As such, livestock slaughter
estimates are based on a census of operating
plants, and therefore, the data have no sampling
error. USDA compiles primary data for the
commercial livestock slaughter estimates from the
daily reports provided electronically by inspectors
from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service
at federally inspected plants.
Those counts are combined with
data from state-administered
non-FI plants to derive total
commercial slaughter estimates.
Data include the number of
head that were slaughtered
daily under FI by species
and class, as well as daily
live and dressed weights.
USDA summarizes federally
inspected data weekly and
then accumulates the data to a
monthly total for the monthly
release. Non-federally inspected
data are summarized monthly
only. USDA releases an annual
summary publication in April.
The 2018 annual summary
was released on April 24. LT
This article was reprinted with
permission from the BEEF Magazine
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