Overview
The United States has the largest fed-cattle industry
in the world, and is the world's largest producer of beef,
primarily high-quality, grain-fed beef for domestic and
export use. Beef production is related to the cattle cycle,
a series of peaks and troughs in herd size and production
that typically lasts from 8 to 12 years. Because the cattle/beef
industry is a major user of feed grains, beef production
is also affected by grain supplies and prices. ERS analyzes
conditions and events that influence supply, demand, trade,
and prices in domestic and global cattle and beef markets.
Features
ERS provides information on issues affecting domestic
and international beef markets and has collected background
data for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or
mad cow disease) coverage. See also An Economic Chronology of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in the United States and Did BSE Announcements Reduce Beef Purchases?.
Did the
Mandatory Requirement Aid the Market? Impact of the Livestock
Mandatory Reporting Act 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.
Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry
Outlook provides monthly analysis of current developments
in the livestock and poultry industry, providing data
on animal numbers, meat and egg production, prices, trade,
and net returns. Beef is a featured commodity in February,
May, August, and November.
Recommended Readings
Global Market Opportunities Drive Beef Production Decisions in Argentina and Uruguay 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.
Factors
Affecting U.S. Beef Consumption reports that beef
is a highly consumed meat in the United States, averaging
67 pounds per person per year. In the late 1990s, annual
beef consumption per person was highest in the Midwest,
followed by the South and West. Rural consumers ate more
beef than did urban and suburban consumers.
Market Integration
of the North American Animal Products Complex 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.
See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
Retail Scanner Prices for
Meat provides information about monthly average retail
price data for selected cuts of beef, pork, poultry, lamb,
and veal, based on electronic supermarket scanner data.
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
contains data on retail, wholesale, and farm values for
beef and the price spreads for these values, as well as
information on average U.S. prices of some retail beef
cuts.
Red
Meat Yearbook presents monthly, quarterly, and annual
data on commercial livestock slaughter and meat production;
livestock and meat prices and price indexes; inventories
of cattle, hogs, and sheep; and meat supply and utilization.
Foreign Agricultural Trade of
the United States (FATUS) provides U.S. agricultural
exports and imports, volume and value, by country, by
commodity, and by calendar year, fiscal year, and month,
for varying periods, such as 1935 to the present or 1989
to the present. Updated monthly or annually.
Production,
Supply, and Distribution (PS&D) contains official
USDA data on production, supply, and distribution of agricultural
commodities for the United States and major importing
and exporting countries. The database provides projections
for the coming year and historical data for more than
200 countries and major crop, livestock, fishery, and
forest products.
Related Briefing Rooms
Animal Production
and Marketing Issues
Canada
Mexico
NAFTA
Agricultural Baseline Projections
Farm Income and Costs
Food CPI,
Prices, and Expenditures
Food Market
System in the U.S.
Conservation
Policy
Environmental Interactions with Agricultural Production
Global Resources
and Productivity
Related Links
Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS) Dairy, Livestock, and Poultry
Division contains links to publications, charts, and
information on international trade; includes the online
publication Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and
Trade.
National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) provides data on inventories,
production, stocks, balance sheets, and prices by State
and nationally, as well as current progress and commodity-specific
reports.
Information on the Canadian
livestock situation is also available through NASS
and Canadian sources. These include reports on both cattle
and hogs.
Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS) provides current cash grain and livestock
prices, and market news.
World Agricultural
Outlook Board (WAOB) provides data on supply and utilization
of beef and other livestock products and principal crops
of the United States and other countries.
Grain Inspection,
Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) facilitates
the marketing of livestock, poultry, meat, and related
agricultural products, and promotes fair and competitive
trading practices for the benefit of consumers and American
agriculture.
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