USDA Economic Research Service Briefing Room
" "  
Link: Bypass USDA Left navigation.
Search ERS

Browse by Subject
Diet, Health & Safety
Farm Economy
Farm Practices & Management
Food & Nutrition Assistance
Food Sector
Natural Resources & Environment
Policy Topics
Research & Productivity
Rural Economy
Trade and International Markets
Also Browse By


or

""

 


 
Briefing Rooms

Animal Production and Marketing Issues

Contents
 

Overview

Animal products account for the majority (51 percent) of the value of U.S. agricultural products, exceeding $100 billion per year. ERS analyzes conditions and events that influence supply, demand, trade, and prices in livestock, dairy, poultry, and aquaculture markets. This briefing room examines issues not easily assigned to a particular livestock commodity, such as price reporting or animal health and welfare.

Information about specific livestock commodities are in separate briefing rooms.

Aquaculture Hogs
Cattle Poultry and eggs
Dairy Sheep and wool

Features

Global Agricultural Supply and Demand: Factors Contributing to the Recent Increase in Food Commodity Prices (May 2008) explores the many factors that have contributed to the runup in food commodity prices over the last 2 years.

How Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) Has Affected World Poultry-Meat Trade (October 2007) discusses the impact of H5N1 strain of avian influenza on world poultry markets during 2003-06. Consumer fears adversely affected poultry consumption in many countries, but as consumers gained confidence that poultry was safe if properly handled and cooked, world demand for cooked poultry increased.

Recommended Readings

Global Market Opportunities Drive Beef Production Decisions in Argentina and Uruguay (April 2008) describes traceability programs in these countries designed to help mitigate animal disease outbreaks, like foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Keeping their herds free of FMD and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a major concern. Improved traceability programs, pasture-based production systems, and long-standing bans against feeding antibiotics and other growth promotants, as well as against feeding meat and bone meal to cattle, help both countries manage and mitigate disease outbreaks and meet the health and sanitary standards of international customers. For the full report, see Beef Production, Markets and Trade in Argentina and Uruguay: An Overview (September 2007).

Did the Mandatory Requirement Aid the Market? Impact of the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act (September 2005) compares the mandatory price reporting system developed by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service in 2001 with the previous voluntary reporting system. The trend toward formula purchases has slowed since mandatory price reporting was implemented, and market forces have likely contributed to an increase in the volume of cattle moving under negotiated purchases.

Market Integration of the North American Animal Products Complex (May 2005) examines the economic integration of the beef, pork, and poultry industries of Mexico, Canada, and the United States over the past two decades. Sanitary barriers, which are designed to protect people and animals from diseases, are some of the most significant barriers to fuller integration of meat and animal markets. For more information on integration, see North America Moves Toward One Market (June 2005).

See all recommended readings...

Recommended Data Products

Commodity Yearbooks contain annual historical market data for beef, pork, lamb, dairy, and poultry.

Livestock and Meat Trade Data contains monthly and annual data for imports and exports of live cattle, hogs, sheep, and goats, as well as beef and veal, pork, lamb and mutton, chicken meat, turkey meat, and eggs. The tables report physical quantities, not dollar values or unit prices. Data on beef and veal, pork, and lamb and mutton are on a carcass-weight-equivalent basis. Breakdowns by country are included.

Meat Price Spreads presents monthly data on farm-to-retail price spreads for beef, pork, broilers, turkeys, and eggs in Excel and html formats. Also included are farm-to-wholesale and wholesale-to-retail spreads and retail prices.

Commodity and Food Elasticities Database allows queriable searches of income, expenditure, and own- and cross-price elasticities for specific commodities and countries, which can be ranked and sorted. The elasticities are mainly from U.S. research on consumer demand published in working papers, dissertations, and peer-reviewed journals. The greatest number of demand studies are for vegetables, fruits, meat, and grocery products in the United States and China.

See all recommended data products...

Glossary

Definitions of terms used in this briefing room and links to other online glossaries that provide additional information about animal products and livestock.

Questions and Answers

What is meant by the phrase "animal products?" What are the USDA grades of meat? Find the answer to this and other frequently asked questions about animal production and marketing issues.

Newsletter

Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook provides monthly market information reports and assesses the impact of existing, proposed, or potential policies and practices on location (domestic and international) and structure of production and processing of animal products.

Related Briefing Rooms

Cattle
Hogs
Poultry and Eggs
Dairy
Sheep and Wool
Aquaculture
Food Marketing System in the U.S.
Food Safety

Related Links

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) provides data on livestock production and State- and national-level prices.

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) provides reports and data on supply and demand (including imports and exports) for major trading countries and current world market and trade reports. Several FAS commodity pages are devoted to livestock and livestock products.

See all related links...

Also at ERS...

Latest Publications

World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates
The U.S. Organic Handling Sector in 2004: Baseline Findings of the Nationwide Survey of Organic Manufacturers, Processors, and Distributors
Global Agricultural Supply and Demand: Factors Contributing to the Recent Increase in Food Commodity Prices
Feed Yearbook summary
Vegetables and Melons Outlook

Latest Data Sets

Season-Average Price Forecasts
Agricultural Outlook Statistical Indicators
Monthly Milk Cost of Production
Wheat Data
Feed Grains Database

Resources

Contact an ERS Expert
Calendar of Releases

Services

Receive E-mail Updates
E-mail This Page
Translate This Page

 

For more information, contact: Kenneth Mathews

Web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov

Updated date: May 2, 2008