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What are the two sources of data used in this
data product?
One source is Meat
Animals Production, Disposition, and Income from USDA's National
Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). This report provides total
inshipments, which are the total number of animals shipped into
a State for feeding or breeding and exclude animals brought in for
immediate slaughter.
The other source is an ERS compilation of State certificates of
veterinary inspection for animals destined for feeding or breeding
purposes and exclude animals for immediate slaughter. To protect
animal health, States regulate interstate movement of livestock,
often through their departments of agriculture. State-certified
veterinarians verify that animals are free of disease and meet State-specific
animal health requirements. In general, States require certificates
of veterinary inspection and import permits for animals destined
for feeding or breeding purposes. Information from these certificates
is generally available in both sending and receiving States, but
not all States tabulate (summarize) the data.
When would I use one source instead of the
other?
The NASS data will give you the most complete picture
of total inshipments by species and by State because it
covers nearly all States. You can also analyze trends
using electronic data (Access file),
beginning in 1989 for cattle, 1990 for hogs, and 1993
for sheep. But if you want to get a sense for state-to-state
shipments (i.e., by origin-destination pairs), you need
to use the certificate data. The certificate data, however,
cover fewer States, and a historical series has not been
compiled.
How are inshipment and outshipment data from
health certificates used to determine livestock flows?
State-to-state livestock movements (inflows and outflows) are approximated
by compiling data from State certificates of veterinary inspection
for animals destined for feeding or breeding purposes and exclude
animals for immediate slaughter. Inshipments (if available) are
used first to identify livestock movements (i.e., by origin and
destination) since States may keep better track of animals coming
into the State than going out. If inshipments are not available
for a particular State, outshipment data (animals moving out of
State) from other States are used as a proxy (see sources).
Together, these data still provide incomplete coverage of all U.S.
shipments. For example, cattle shipments compiled from the 29 State
sources totaled about 17.7 million head, compared with a U.S. total
of 21.8 million reported by NASS. In short, inflows and outflows
are approximated by using the best available inshipment/outshipment
data.
Why are there discrepancies between the two
sources?
State-to-state flows do not equal 2001 total inshipments reported
by NASS because tabulations of certificate data (for state-to-state
flows) were not available from all States and not all tabulations
were 2001 data (see sources). Flows for
States where tabulations were not available were generated using
data from a combination of years.
Where can I get updates?
NASS releases total inshipment data in its Meat
Animals Production, Disposition, and Income each spring. An
update of the state-to-state flows by ERS is not planned. Updating
these data would involve contacting sources
used in this data product (e.g., State departments of agriculture)
for shipment data. A current project by USDA's Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service is developing a web-based system for State
certificates that, once implemented, would provide an electronic
means for issuing certificates, sharing data, and tabulating flows.
All States would need to participate if livestock tracking is to
be thorough.
How are the regions defined?
The States within each farm production region are:
- Pacific: Washington, Oregon, and California.
- Mountain: Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico,
Wyoming, and Utah.
- Northern Plains: Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota.
- Southern Plains: Oklahoma and Texas.
- Corn Belt: Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Iowa.
- Lake States: Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
- Delta: Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
- Southeast: South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
- Appalachia: Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, and
West Virginia.
- Northeast: Vermont, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York,
Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, Delaware, Connecticut, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
- Other: Alaska and Hawaii.
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