January red meat production up on faster processing pace

January red meat production up on faster processing pace

Red meat production bounced higher in January.

The USDA says red meat production totaled 4.766 billion pounds, an increase of 4% from January 2021.

Beef was reported at 2.326 billion pounds, 3% higher, with a 5% jump in the slaughter to 2.828 million head canceling out an 18 pound drop in the average live weight at 1,380 pounds.

January’s dairy cow slaughter was 297,900 head, up 31,600 from December and 37,100 from January 2022.

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