US cattle slaughter
Fastmarkets research forecasts cattle slaughter at 625,000 head in the week to Saturday April 27, less than half a percent lower than the same period in 2023.

Over the next six weeks, cattle slaughter is expected to average 622,500 head per week, down by 0.24% year on year, according to Fastmarkets research.

Cattle slaughter for the week ended April 20 was at 620,000 head, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s estimated weekly meat production, 0.80% lower than the corresponding week in 2023. Year-to-date cattle slaughter was at 9.543 million head, 4.80% year on year.

Year-to-date cattle production was at 8.011 billion lbs, down by 2.80% from the same period in 2023.

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